Around 25 percent of the 8.8 million of the flood-affected population is in danger of contracting various kinds of diseases, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Monday, adding that the number might increase as waterborne diseases were on the rise in the flooded region of Sindh.
According to NDMA’s latest figures of the affected population, the number of the people affected had increased from around 6 million to 8.835 million. Addressing a press conference, NDMA Chairman Dr Zafar Qadir said health services in the flooded areas were being managed by the National Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Network (NHEPRN), a department of the Cabinet Division, but it was working parallel to the NDMA in the health sector.
Later, Dr Sabina, NDMA liaison officer working closely with the NHEPRN, briefed reporters about the latest health situation in the flood-affected areas. Dr Sabina said waterborne and other diseases were on the rise in the flooded areas and around 25 percent of the affected population was facing different kinds of diseases. She said malaria, cholera, upper and lower respiratory tract infections and skin diseases had been reported in the recent days. She said around 26.2 percent were suspected of malaria in Umerkot district alone which might include dengue as well. She also said upper and lower respiratory tract infection during the last week was 18.8 percent, adding that infection of the lower tract was the leading cause of morbidity representing 60.8 percent. She also added that acute diarrhoeal diseases were about 11 percent and malaria was close to 10.3 percent. She said diarrhoeal diseases comprised 18.2 percent of the total morbidity in the children under the age of five. She said current health threats of waterborne diseases were acute watery diarrhoea, bloody diarrhoea, typhoid fever, hepatitis A and E and malaria, as well as dengue fever among the vector borne diseases.
She said around one million patients were being checked per week and there were 433 medical camps including fixed and mobile ones in the area. She said eye infections were also reported in recent days.Dr Sabina said 45 emergency health kits had been supplied in the flood-affected areas for the pregnant women and 58 kits, which were enough for over 1,000 people for a month, were also supplied. She also added that 58,000 diagnostic kits had also been provided in the areas.