Health care: PRCS approves Rs148m for providing medicines to vulnerable people

Relief, medical cover provided to 0.2 million flood victims last year.

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has approved Rs148 million for procurement of medicines to provide maximum health care to the vulnerable communities all over the country. The decision was taken at a meeting of the board of the society at its head office on Thursday, a press release issued by the PRCS said.

Secretary-general Dr Mahboob Sardar apprised the meeting that PRCS through its strong network of 131 health facilities has provided medicines worth Rs86.6 million to vulnerable communities in the far-flung areas during 2012.

The society reached out to 211,526 flood victims with food and non-food items, emergency health, water and sanitation and emergency shelter in Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab.

“On an average, 1.5 million patients receive preventive and curative care annually through these health facilities across Pakistan and over the past few years the health and care programme has also been developed to effectively respond to emergencies and disasters,” he said.

Dr Sardar said the PRCS is carrying out operations in 12 districts — Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur in Punjab, Kashmore, Ghotki, Qamber, Shahdad Kot, Khairpur, Jacobabad, Shikarpur in Sindh, and Qila Saifullah, Loralai, Naseerabad and Jafarabad in Balochistan.

The PRCS in collaboration with the International Federation of Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), partner national societies and local donors has provided food packs to a total of 30, 218 families out of which 15,603 in Sindh, 7,413 in Punjab, and 7,202 in Balochistan.

Fifteen PRCS health teams during the 2012 floods provided medical cover to about 98,000 victims in the affected areas of these provinces.

Six plants were established under the health WatSan programme in Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan for the flood affected people, 1.8 million litters of water was arranged for 78,000 persons.

He said, currently, the society is actively engaged in polio eradication campaign in Sindh and Balochistan in collaboration with IFRC and WHO. In response to the very recent outbreak of measles epidemic in Sindh, five health teams have been deployed and 10,132 children have been vaccinated, in addition to awareness campaigns.

The managing board meeting was chaired by Chairman Major-General (retd) Muhammad Nawaz Khan and attended by Vice-Chairperson Farzana Naek, board members Mian Muhammad Javed and Dr Mushtaq.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2013.