PESHAWAR, Sept 16: The Federal Republic of Germany has pledged a grant of more than 8 million euros to strengthen the NWFP Tuberculosis Control Programme, officials said.

They said the German government had, on the request of the previous military-led civilian provincial government, agreed to extend a financial support worth over 8 million euros for a five-year TB control programme to be carried out in the NWFP.

After prolonged deliberations among the officials of the federal and provincial governments and the concerned German officials, the German government had finalized the terms and conditions for the project at that time, the sources added.

However, further documentation of the project had been suspended when the MMA government had been formed as it had expressed reservations over the terms and conditions of the project, which had ultimately caused delay in its inception for almost two years.

The government, according to the sources, was of the view that a major portion of the grant would be spent on consultancy as per the terms and conditions of the project and as such it would be the least beneficial for the province.

However, following consecutive meetings, the province had now finally signed the project documents and it is expected that the amount would be released soon. The provincial health department would prepare the PC-1 of the project, which would be submitted to the federal government for approval and then the project would be formally executed.

Citing the reasons behind the provincial government's reservations, the sources said that the main contention of the government was that 50 per cent of the grant would go in the head of the consultancy charges carried out by the German consultants.

"But it is also a matter of fact that the grant has no return or interest liability. It is a simple grant and irrespective of its total size it will benefit the patients of the deadly TB to some extent," said an official of the health department.

He said the German grant might be shifted to the other provinces if the NWFP could not avail it. Tuberculosis constitutes a very high disease burden in Pakistan and accounts for 44 per cent of the burden in the WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Region.