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PESHAWAR, July 10: The provincial government has issued directives to the executive district officers (health) of three flood-hit districts to take steps to cope with epidemics.
“Epidemics such as diarrhoea, typhoid, malaria and gastroenteritis might affect the displaced people after floods,” said Dr Fayyaz Ali of the NWFP health department.
According to him, additional fund of Rs5 million each to Peshawar, Nowshera and Charsadda had been released for the purchase of required medicines.
All the health workers, he said, had been put on alert and efforts were afoot to administer vaccines to the flood victims against water-borne diseases.
Dr Ali said the officials had also been advised to aware people of post-flood ailments and measures required to control them.
WORKSHOPS: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has planned to conduct workshops in the three districts on disease’s early warning system (DEWS).
“Workshops would enable health workers to detect diseases at an earlier stage and respond to them effectively,” said Dr Quaid Saeed, WHO’s emergency medical officer.
According to him, sever floods affecting 550 families in Peshawar; 2,695 persons in Charsadda and 2,877 in Nowshera districts might cause epidemics among the displaced population.
He said safe drinking water, food, medicines and fodder for animals were needed to help the flood victims in these districts.
Dr Quaid said emergency kits had been given to the executive district officers (health) of Peshawar, Charsadda and Nowshera to facilitate control of the diseases.
FATA: The director health of Fata, through a letter, has informed the government that most of the health facilities in Kurram and Orakzai agencies lacked resources to control the outbreak of gastroenteritis.
“We need medical supplies and tools to cope with the situation,” said the letter, which has also asked the WHO to provide logistic support to the health facilities in the agencies.
The letter said WHO’s guidelines regarding the management of epidemics had been sent to the health facilities in the two Fata’s units, but the world health agency should train doctors in the management of diseases.
Meanwhile, Deputy Director Health (Fata) Dr Iftikhar Ali has claimed that gastroenteritis that had hit some localities in the region was now under control.
