The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a warning over the deteriorating conditions in Pakistan, which has been struck by record rainfall and is coping with its worst flood catastrophe ever.
Regarding the floods in Pakistan, WHO Regional Director Dr. Ahmed Al-Mandhari stated: “We are closely observing and are very concerned about the humanitarian calamity that the people of Pakistan are currently facing due of the terrible monsoon floods.”
In a press release on September 5, Dr. Al-Mandhari claimed that long-term global climate change, which is making the weather more intense, is to blame for the unprecedented level of damage and destruction brought on by the floods in Pakistan.
Tens of millions of people are compelled to consume and use hazardous water for other everyday requirements due to property damage and flooding. Many of them are also compelled to move.
According to a WHO representative, this has increased the likelihood that people would contract illnesses including acute watery diarrhoea, malaria, dengue fever, typhoid, measles, and leishmaniasis, which are already widespread in the nation.
Typhoid, malaria, and diarrhoea cases are on the rise, according to preliminary data from tracking diseases. Other diseases like polio and COVID-19 are also more likely to spread if the crisis is not handled right away.
Thousands of expectant mothers no longer have access to medical care and facilities for a safe delivery of their children, according to Dr. Al-Mandhari. This limits their options to giving birth at home, which may result in complications.
The WHO representative stated that in order to cope with their significant losses and the destruction they are witnessing, tens of thousands of people, including children, need psychological support and mental health services. It will be difficult for those who require medical care for pre-existing diseases to receive it.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has acted immediately to support the Government of Pakistan and the Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination in their efforts to ensure that the impacted individuals may access the critical healthcare services they require. In the nation, almost 10% of the medical facilities have been destroyed or damaged. Our aim is to prevent this natural tragedy from turning into a complex public health emergency that claims more lives than it should, he stressed.
According to reports, mobile health teams have been dispatched to flood-affected villages to assist with the health and nutrition of youngsters, pregnant women, new moms, and their infants.
The World Health Organization reported that to ensure that people could receive basic and crucial medical care, the Pakistani government, WHO, and other health partners established more than 4500 medical camps.
