KARACHI, July 2: Following the recent floods in Sindh, a health emergency and response coordination centre was established on Monday to facilitate the timely mobilisation of healthcare resources. Supported by the Sindh health department, the World Health Organisation (WHO), Unicef and UNFPA, the Karachi-based centre will report on and monitor disaster relief on the provincial level.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Meteorological Department has warned that a strong monsoon weather system is expected to cause heavy rains and high-velocity winds in lower Sindh, particularly Karachi, between July 3 and July 4.

At a press conference, secretary to the Sindh health department, Mumtaz-ur-Rehman Khan, said that the havoc wreaked by last week’s storms indicated the need for effective monitoring and response by the health sector. He announced that the centre would be functional by Monday night and provide updated situation reports.

Special Secretary Public Health, Dr Abdul Majid told journalists that the centre would help prevent the overlapping of relief work by local and international organisations.

Instead of various NGOs and agencies working in isolation, he said, the centre would help pool the resources of the heath sector.

However, he pointed out that the province’s stock of anti-snake venom vaccines is inadequate is case of an emergency in rural areas. He said that the government of Pakistan and international organisations had been approached in this regard and Sindh was likely to be supplied with 2,000 vials within a couple of days.

A source in the health department told Dawn that a coordinating meeting held earlier was attended by representatives of the Sindh health department, Unicef, WHO and UNFPA. The health sector’s response to disaster and operational plans for the next few days were discussed, and the meeting called for donations from national and international agencies, the establishment of asset repositories at the provincial and district levels, and the mobilisation of health professionals. The meeting was informed that the Sindh health department had been coordinating health-related relief operations in the province since June 23, when Kambar district was hit by heavy rains.

The meeting was attended by Dr Zulfiqar Sidduqui, Dr Osama Ali Maher and Dr Wahid Bhurt of WHO, Deirore Kiernan, Dr Asif Aslam and Tahir Shaikh of Unicef and Dr Abdul Majid and Dr Shakeel A Mullick of the Sindh health department.

Citizens and executive district officers (health) may contact the Health Emergency Operation Centre in the Sindh Secretariat on cell-phone numbers 0333-2118534 and 0321-2420780, and landline numbers (021) 9203108 and 9204203.