KARACHI, June 26: The Sindh health directorate general has approached the provincial authorities for a special grant to cope with any eventuality including helping possibly internally displaced persons during the upcoming monsoon.
Recently a meeting called to review flood preparations in the province was told that five districts — Jamshoro, Dadu, Jacobabad, Kambar-Shahdadkot and Larkana — were vulnerable to flash floods likely to be triggered by heavy monsoon as rainwater could enter these districts from the mountains.
About 15 districts were affected due to rain/floods last year and they had to witness considerable suffering of the people, losses of their property and public utility centres and services. About 9.28 million people were affected, while 437 people, including 215 males, 104 females and 162 children, had died.
About 768,000 people had reported to various camps across Sindh, according to the provincial disaster management authority’s data.
Director General of Health Services Dr Firozuddin Memon told Dawn that control rooms had already been set up in every district to monitor the situation. “I have also been informed by the district health administration that mobile and fixed teams would be deployed to provide medical cover to the people in case of any emergency,” he said, adding that all aspects in regard to public health were being considered to cope with any rain and flood emergency.
He said that he had also approached the health department for provision of a special grant for an improved contingency plan.
He said that the health directorate had recently handed over about 23,000 bed nets, which were available from its previous stocks, to the districts.
Like last year, he said, the health officers and workers would make all efforts to contain waterborne and infectious diseases in various areas, if they were hit by floods or rain.
An official source said that last year, with the support of government and donor agencies and health organisations the department had distributed over 368,000 mosquito nets, 3,200 water purification units, one million hygiene sanitation tablets and about 10,000 hygiene kits or packs.—Staff Reporter