LAHORE, Oct 28: The Parliamentarian Doctors Forum has plans to establish three mobile delivery centres to serve expecting mothers in the quake-hit areas in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and northern areas in Pakistan.

According to UN agencies, there are some 9,000 expecting women in AJK and northern areas where the earthquake wreaked a havoc on Oct 8.

This was announced by cabinet division parliamentary secretary and PDF president Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan while speaking at a news conference at a local hotel on Friday.

Owing to the local culture, she said the PDF would take along female gynaecologists to conduct deliveries. She said a complete mother and child health programme would be launched in the earthquake affected areas.

In the first phase, Dr Awan said the parliamentarian doctors had responded to the worst catastrophe in Pakistan on a non-governmental basis and collected relief goods. She said the PDF also arranged three containers from Sialkot and established field mobile hospitals in Muzaffarabad and Balakot. When roads leading to Rawlakot opened, she said, the PDF moved its mobile hospitals there and served the quake victims. She said that over 100 doctors served at field mobile hospitals on a rotational basis. She said the PDF had also arranged four truckloads of medicines for victims.

Answering a question, she said the doctors at the mobile hospitals worked as field staff and referred serious patients after first aid to tertiary care level hospitals set up by the Sheikh Zayed Hospital and others at Muzaffarabad and Mansehra.

Answering another question, Dr Awan said that a French NGO had donated 200 shelter houses, while the International Lions Club had donated 200 fibre glass houses. He said that these houses would be raised for the earthquake victims in Muzaffarabad and Mansehra next week.

Speaking on the occasion, PDF’s Punjab coordinator Dr Muzaffar Sheikh said the major catastrophe in shape of the earthquake had eliminate full one generation in the affected areas. He said the earthquake also left thousands dead and hundreds and thousands missing besides damaging public and private sector infrastructure.

In this critical time, he said, it was encouraging that the whole nation was united and had sent relief goods, medicines, tents as well as volunteers to help victims.

Dr Sheikh, who is also Punjab Assembly Standing Committee on Health chairman, said senior and junior doctors served the victims round-the-clock selflessly.

He said the PDF had also plans to establish a 40-bed hospital, a primary school and a residential colony for staff in the quake-affected areas.

Pakistan Medical Society chairman and SHADE secretary-general Dr Masood Akhtar Sheikh was also present on the occasion.

Call: Ulema urged the people during their Jumatul Wida sermons to extend all-out support to the earthquake victims.

In Lahore, the largest Jumatul Wida congregations were held at the historic Badshahi Mosque and the Data Darbar Complex where hundreds of thousands of people offered their prayers.

Khateeb and ulema urged the people to not forget their affected brethren on Eid and continue to extend support to them.