Impose ‘health emergency’ in flood-hit areas
ISLAMABAD: HEALTH experts have demanded of the federal and provincial governments to immediately impose a health emergency in flood hit areas, establish field hospitals and urgently announce a strategy to deal with this potential health crisis.
They deplored that people have started dying due to diseases in the flood-affected areas of Sindh, Balochistan and southern Punjab.
“A serious medical crisis has already gripped the flood-affected areas, where the people have started dying due to diseases and hunger. The government should immediately declare a health emergency in those areas, set up field hospitals, establish a panel of medical experts to formulate a national policy for preventing these disease outbreaks,” Prof. Muhammad Tahir, Central General Secretary of Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA), who along with his team returned from the flood-hit areas, told reporters.
Accompanied by Dr Shabbir Ahmad, President PIMA Punjab, Dr Itikhar Burney, General Secretary PIMA Punjab, and Dr Mumtaz Hussain, President PIMA Islamabad, Prof. Muhammad Tahir said infants and children had started dying due to malnutrition and water-borne diseases as well as vector-borne diseases, while adults were also vulnerable due to diseases, food shortages and absence of adequate medical care.
“The government should utilise its resources to establish field hospitals with essential treatment and prevention facilities for diseases, including diarrhea, malaria, dengue, chronic illnesses and mental health issues,” he said, adding that control centres under the government should be established in every district, so that information could be exchanged between various NGOS to avoid the wastage of facilities.
He said that Pakistan Islamic Medical Association commited to provide medical facilities in the flood-affected areas from day one and its volunteer doctors were serving in south Punjab, Balochistan, Sindh and KP through medical camps and mobile units to meet the medical needs of the people affected by floods and also striving to prevent spread of infectious diseases.
“PIMA has divided this relief work into two phases. In the first phase, mobile clinics and medical camps are being set up. In the second phase, we will treat patients in specialist hospitals for various diseases through the referral system,” he added.