PESHAWAR, July 6: While handing over the consignment of medicines to the provincial health department for distribution among the flood-hit people of the Frontier province, the WHO’s country chief has urged health professionals to be prepared to cope with epidemics that occur in the aftermath of floods. WHO’s country chief, Dr Khalif Mohammad Bile, handed over three emergency medical kits to the director-general health services, Dr Jalilur Rehman, here on Wednesday.

Later, Dr Bile, along with the health minister, Inayatullah Khan, visited the relief camp in the city and in Nowshera district.

“We have provided three kits of medicines for the flood-affected people of Peshawar, Nowshera and Charsadda districts,” said WHO’s Peshawar-based Emergency Medical Officer Dr Quaid Saeed.

He said that all three kits would cater to the health needs of 90,000 people for the next three months.

The WHO chief warned of the outbreak of epidemics after the floods and asked health professionals to be alert to cope with the number of patients, and added that the world health agency would also provide technical assistance to them so that they could handle the situation.

Meanwhile, a UN official said that more relief was needed to rehabilitate the people displaced by the recent floods.

He said that more floods were expected in view of the heavy snowfall in Swat and Dir districts earlier this year.

He said that Swat and Dir, which usually received between 8 and 10ft of snow every year, had received 26ft snow this year due to which the water level had gone up in the river.