“The company is ready to give us 100,000 vaccinations and oral drops but the federal government is not willing to give permission,” said a senior health department official who did not want to be named. Nearly 30 people have been diagnosed with the disease in Khairpur district alone and two deaths have been reported from Babarlo. “There were three children of a man named Abdul Rehman Samejo. His two sons died of Cholera and one daughter is in critical condition,” said the official.
It seems that the problem is a bureaucratic one. “The problem is that the company that is willing to export the anti-Cholera vaccine is not listed in our country,” said Capt. (retd) Dr Abdul Majid, the special secretary for health for the Sindh government. “But if the government wants, it can import it.”
Sindh Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed could not be immediately reached for comment. However, his spokesman Saleem Khan confirmed Dr Majid’s stance. He told The Express Tribune that the department had contacted two companies - one in Vietnam and the other in Korea. He said the Korean company had agreed to provide 100,000 vaccinations. “The Sindh government had approached the federal health department because without its permission, it cannot get medicines from abroad,” said Kaleem. “But the problem is that the heath ministry has refused to give permission, saying that the company is not listed in Pakistan.”
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that 140,000 cases of cholera and acute diarrhoea are expected in Pakistan and a severe outbreak could take place in Sindh in the next two months. This could double the death toll.
“Patients suffering from Cholera, gastroenteritis and diarrhoea need immediate attention otherwise they will die,” said a health department official who did not want to be named. He claimed that there was a shortage of funds and medicines in Sukkur and Larkana divisions.
According to a report prepared by the health department, 182,620 people across the province have been suffering from diarrhea, 33,708 from dysentery and 127,613 are suspected to have malaria. Kashmore and Kandhkot are at the top of the list of 18 flood-affected districts, where 17 medical camps have been set up.
Dr Majid said that many Cholera cases have been reported from different areas. So far, around 82 people have died in registered camps. When questioned about a shortage of medicines in the camps, Dr Majid said that all executive district officers have been told to use their supplies. “We have given each district Rs1.5 million for medicines,” he said. Thirty kits have been provided by the WHO and each has medicines for 3,000 people for six months. Nonetheless, he fears shortages in the future at the district level. More trouble is anticipated when people start returning to their villages. “There will be stagnant water and due to a lack of potable water and sanitation a large number of diseases are expected to break out,” he warned.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2010.
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