Health worker Nizam ud din (above) vaccinates a baby in a partly submerged village. ©WHO
Donors are responding to WHO’s appeal for Pakistan’s flood crisis with contributions and pledges – support urgently needed to confront the health consequences of the country’s still-unfolding disaster.
Since the appeal’s launch on 5 October, WHO has received nearly 20 percent of the US$ 81.5 million needed to pay for health care for the sick and injured, deliver medicines and supplies, assess the risk of outbreaks, determine health needs and more.
“Although the waters have stopped rising, the danger is only increasing,” WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a briefing early this month. “More than 1500 lives were lost in the floods, but many more could be lost to disease in the coming weeks without a massive and urgent international response.”
Contributions to the Pakistan appeal have come from Norway, the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), and WHO’s Contingency Fund for Emergencies – a pool provided by 16 Member States. Others have pledged to donate, including Germany, which has announced contributions totalling US$ 7 million.
Contributions are being used to treat severely malnourished children, halt outbreaks of malaria, cholera and hepatitis, restart disrupted immunization programs, repair ruined health centres – which number in the thousands –and carry out other health-related activities.
Watch the video: How is WHO supporting people affected by the floods in Pakistan?
Teams brave flooded terrain to get vaccinations to children
Vaccinators in Sindh province (above) are navigating flooded villages and crossing broken bridges as disease outbreaks multiply. ©WHO
A WHO-led response in Singh province includes emergency vaccination campaigns and mobile health camps in settlements for people displaced by floods.
As part of the effort, more than 2500 vaccinators have been tasked with delivering routine immunizations in 23 flooded areas of the province.
“We're unsure whether our transportation will be adequate to get us to the destination because most roads are either damaged or submerged,” said Nizam ud din, one of the frontline vaccinators.
WHO inaugurates an emergency operations centre in flood-devastated Swat
Two months ago, Swat valley (above) was one of the country’s major tourist attractions. ©WHO
WHO has set up an emergency operations centre in Swat – one of ten new centres – to serve as a hub for distribution of water purification tablets, vaccines and nutritional supplements.
The Organization has also donated operating-theater lights, anesthesia machines and other essential equipment.
WHO has established ten emergency operations centres and three operational hubs in Sukkur, Naseerabad and Hyderabad. Above: Flood response in progress at the centre in Sukkur, in hard-hit Sindh province. ©WHO
Flood victims face greater risk of cholera, acute diarrhoea, respiratory diseases, skin infections and malaria. “WHO is on the ground to ensure that immediate health needs of the affected population are met,” said WHO Pakistan Representative Dr Palitha Gunarathna Mahipala (above, centre). ©WHO
WHO supports free medical services for flood victims at camps for internally displaced people. Above: at a camp in Larkana. ©WHO
WHO-supported mobile clinics are playing an important role in the emergency response. Above: at a medical facility for flood victims at Camp Ghazi Goth. ©WHO
Related: WHO airlifts medical supplies to Pakistan amid evolving humanitarian crisis
WHO’s appeal for Pakistan seeks to avert a public health disaster
Funds generated by the appeal will help WHO ensure a well-coordinated response and quickly expand access to a package of essential health services in 32 priority “calamity-hit” districts.©WHO/Mohbeen Ansari
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WHO thanks all governments, organizations and individuals who are contributing to the Organization’s work, and in particular those who have provided fully flexible contributions to maintain a strong, independent WHO.
Donors and partners featured in this week’s stories include WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies, (supplied by Canada, China, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States of America), the Government of Dubai and the International Human City.