From bad to worse at relief camps

KARACHI: The situation at relief camps for flood survivors is worsening with each passing day and the number of casualities from water-borne diseases can increase at an alarming rate if vaccines are not sent.

Dr Zulfiqar Bhutta, chair, division of Women and Child Health at the Aga Khan University Hospital, told The Express Tribune that vaccines and life-saving drugs are needed on an urgent basis. He and his team is headed to Khairpur. “Overall, it’s a gloomy picture. Our resources are limited. I have been appealing for vaccines for two weeks now, and we need to get them through any source we can such as donors,” he said.

The AKU is dispatching several volunteer teams of doctors and nurses to flood-affected areas across Pakistan.

At least 11 people, most of them children, have died due to water-borne diseases such as cholera and gastroenteritis at different relief camps across the country. A dearth of clean drinking water and medicines besides poor living conditions at relief camps is expected to affect many people, especially children and the elderly, in the coming days. The United Nations has estimated that around 3.5 million children are at risk from water-borne diseases in the aftermath of the floods.

“There has been a diarrhoea outbreak in Khairpur, and we have geared up efforts to bring it under control. It’s a very complicated situation we are facing,” said Dr Bhutta. “It’s not just the flood survivors that we have to look after. We also have to ensure medical care and a proper environment for their animals such as goats, cows and buffaloes.”

The relief camps, most of them set up in government schools, are congested with many people crammed into single rooms. Such conditions are ideal for the transmission of human-to-human diseases.

“It’s difficult to convince people about taking the right precautions for averting the outbreaks of diseases. We are encouraging people to follow simple hygiene measures such as hand washing, maintaining proper sanitation and keeping the environment clean.”

The shortage of trained medical staff is also a major factor hindering efforts at relief camps. The prevalence of a conservative mindset compels most of the flood survivors from Sindh’s rural areas to avoid having women treated by male doctors. “This means we must have female doctors at the camps. We need properly trained medical personnel and so far we only have doctors and nurses from the AKU at our camps. But we need to consolidate,” said Dr Bhutta.

Amid the hopelessness and despair, there are still some positive signs such as aid finally starting to pour in for the survivors. Dr Bhutta was optimistic. “People are opening their hearts and sending in relief goods. We expect things to improve with more aid coming in.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 21^st, 2010.