55 flood affected health facilities to be revamped

LAHORE: The Health department has come up with a crash programme to rehabilitate 55 Basic Health Units (BHUs), Rural Health Centres (RHCs) and Tehsil Headquarters Hospitals (THQs) badly affected in seven districts of the province, officials told The Express Tribune.

In this regard, the health department gave a presentation to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif last week. Director General Health Chaudhray Muhammad Aslam told The Express Tribune that the affected health facilities were being restored as the flood waters receded in the respective areas.

Health secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad has ordered a mobile health service in the areas till the full rehabilitation of the BHUs and the RHCs.

The  55 health facilities affected by the floods include 4 BHUs, 2 RHCs and 2 THQs of Mianwali district, 11 BHUs of Layyah district, 15 BHUs, 5 RHCs and 1 THQ of Muzaffargarh district, 5 BHUs of Dera Ghazi Khan district, 5 BHUs and 1 THQ of Rajanpur district and 4 BHUs of Rahim Yar Khan district.

The Health Department, with assistance from the World Health Organisation (WHO), is providing essential drugs, and running vaccination campaigns to prevent epidemics. It has also put in place a logistics support system for drug management and forecasting (hardware). WHO has also pledged support to provide vehicles with essential medicines and salaries for the staff involved in these mobile services.

The temporary plan includes use of vacant buildings on temporary basis, deploying mobile health clinics, diverting funds from ADP schemes to mobile health units, and ensuring medicine supplies. Health and hygiene education is also a wish priority.

The document stated that 11 water purification kits donated by the Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent would also be installed in every tehsil.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 7^th, 2010.