Health Risks Grow in Pakistan
Posted on Tue, 24/08/2010
The scale of the impact of the floods on the people of Pakistan is overwhelming. The total number of people impacted is greater than 20 million (almost the population of Australia). The devastation and dislocation of people is unimaginable. 200,000 more are being evacuated from villages at the moment.
The Action by Churches Together Alliance response in Pakistan is reaching over 269,000 people. Children remain at high risk of disease. Sources quoted in Pakistan media say six million children have been affected by the floods with 2.7 million needing urgent, life-saving assistance. In addition, 3.5 million are at high risk of illness like diarrhoea and dysentery. Concerns about the spread of cholera have grown, particularly in areas where water is flowing only slowly.
Dennis Joseph, from ACT member Church World Service-Pakistan/Afghanistan, says 80 percent of patients at the mobile health unit in Balakot Tehsil, Mansehra District, are women and children. The most common diseases are diarrhoea, respiratory tract infections, skin diseases and urinary tract infections. Poor weather and damp, humid conditions increase respiratory infections, particularly among malnourished children.
Children are also at risk of illness as they play and bathe in flood waters. In addition to providing consultations and free medicines, health teams are conducting health education sessions on issues of waterborne diseases with emphasis on the importance of safe drinking water and good hygiene practices.
Malnutrition is also a major concern. Before the floods, 77 million Pakistanis had inadequate food. Half the child deaths in Pakistan could be attributed to poor nutrition according to 2008 reports by World Food Programme and UNICEF. With more than seventeen million acres of farmland submerged and acute food shortages throughout the country, the risk of malnutrition and death have increased dramatically. Children have immediate need of food items that can provide sufficient calorie intake and nutritional value.
Your giving to the COCOA Pakistan Flood Appeal is being directed through ACT Alliance to Church World Service-Pakistan/Afghanistan, Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe and Norwegian Church Aid.
(Source: ACT Alliance)