Round-the-clock: Health Dept providing flood victims treatment in six districts

Rescue-1122 transported 12,683 marooned people to safer locations, Khanzada says

LAHORE: The Health Department is providing medical treatment to people in 79 union councils in six districts affected by floods this year, Adviser to Chief Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique said on Friday. He said 158 medical teams, including 50 mobile units, had been deployed to these areas.

He said 47,168 residents of Dera Ghazi Khan, Layyah, Muzaffargarh, Mianwali, Rahim Yar Khan and Rajanpur had received treatment and two people who had suffered snake and dog bites in Rahim Yar Khan and Rajanpur had been administered vaccines. Rafique 7,013 children had been vaccinated against poliomyelitis, 5,089 against measles and 3,546 women had been inoculated against tetanus.

He said women medical officers had been included in medical teams. He said they had attended to and provided antenatal care to 607 pregnant women and 13 deliveries were conducted by birth attendants. He said 12,821 aquapura tablets had been distributed  and 33 water reservoirs had been chlorinated. Medical teams have collected 572 blood samples for analysis and found only two per cent people carrying gastroenteritis.

While presiding over a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Floods on Friday, Home Minister Shuja Khanzada said 136 relief camps had been set up and Rescue-1122 had transported 12,683 marooned people to safer locations. He said mobile security units were keeping watch over the relief camps. The people living there were being given meals and other essential items through 250 boats. He said 90,750 food hampers carrying flour, tea, pulses, matches, ghee, biscuits and dry milk had been distributed. Flood victims had also been given 1,100 life jackets, 100 life rings, 8,800 tents, 15,000 mosquito nets, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 1^st, 2015.