Diarrhoea, sunstroke become endemic in Shabqadar

SHABQADAR: With an increase in temperature and excessive load-shedding in the tehsil, cases of diarrhoea and sunstroke have soared in Shabqadar.

A person was killed due to sunstroke and a majority of locals have been hospitalised. The hot and dry weather made worse by over 20 hours of load-shedding in Shabqadar and its surrounding areas has made life extremely difficult for people in the tehsil. This is also because lack of electricity, particularly in hospitals, has made treatment almost impossible.

Exacerbating misery

Dr Hassan, who works at Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Shabqadar, told The Express Tribune more than 50% of patients brought to the facility in the last week were patients suffering from sunstroke or diarrhoea.

He said the hospital which does not have electricity for 20 hours was trying its best to cater to the needs of people under the circumstances. Hassan said while patients with sunstroke need a cooler atmosphere, prolonged load-shedding had made that impossible. He added non-availability of power supply at the hospital makes it difficult to admit patients who could benefit from indoor facilities.

Samar Khan, a paramedic, told The Express Tribune the hospital had night shift staff but since the emergency ward did not have a power supply, surgeons and doctors stitched wounds and worked using light from their mobile devices.

Samar also said that the facility had cold storage but most of the vaccines had expired due to lack of power supply.

“Majority of patients, children, women and labourers, are suffering from heatstroke, sunstrokes and diarrhoea but medicines like lactated Ringer’s solution and Flagyl drops were unavailable sinc they could not be stored without electricity,” he added.

Malik Naveed, a Jamaat-e-Islami leader, said as temperatures rise, load-shedding also increases in the tehsil and power supply has been suspended in some areas for several days.

“While government hospitals exist, locals prefer to go to the dozen other private ones since unsteady power supply in the former has rendered facilities unusable,” he said.

Voicing grievances

Malang Sher, a diarrhoea patient, told The Express Tribune he has visited many hospitals but a majority of them do not have emergency drugs. He also said Malak Sher, a young boy who suffered from sunstroke in Shabqadar died on Friday and almost every second person in the tehsil was suffering from diarrhoea or heatstroke.

Misbahullah Jan, another local, said most of his children were ill and had developed skin allergies due to the hot weather.

“This is probably one of the worse periods in Shabqadar where scorching sunlight is accompanied with excessive load-shedding where people are spending days and nights at work or on roads,” he said.

Jan added people who had monetary resources had bought solar panels and gasoline generators but the majority who belonged to low income background did not have any alternative means of cooling.

“The poor have no electricity and no adequate health facilities,”
he said.

According to Jan, people were criticising Pesco, the government, MNA Aftab Sherpao and MPA Arif Ahmadzai for failing to solve
the issues.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 29^th, 2016.