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Letter
to the Editor - Pakistan Flood Appeal
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The Pakistan Floods 2010
- Pakistan Flood Relief Appeal - URGENT
HELP IS NEEDED
Dr Manzoor Butt
Maqbool
Clinic
Rawalpindi
Email: drmanzoor@ymail.com
The
2010 Pakistan floods began in July 2010 after
record heavy monsoon rains. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
province of Pakistan was affected first. Thereafter,
the floods entered in Punjab and now it is causing
extreme devastation in Sind. The floods are
described as the worst in the country in the
last 80 years.
Estimates from rescue-service-officials
suggest the death-toll has reached 3,000 victims.
According to a recent estimate of the United
Nations, the number of people suffering from
these massive floods in Pakistan exceeds 20
million, which is more than the combined total
of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir
earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The
disaster has done harm to struggling Pakistani
economy due to extensive damage to infrastructure,
crops and loss of livestock. Power lines are
down and damage has been done to hospitals,
schools and sanitation systems. Many families
are camping out in schools and other building
located on higher ground.
About 46 of Pakistan's 135
districts have been affected by the flooding.
Many health facilities have been destroyed,
resulting in a loss of tons of medicines. There
is a tremendous need for more medical and related
materials to treat people affected by the humanitarian
emergency, as well as to immunize children,
particularly against polio, typhoid, cholera
and measles.
Major health concerns are
cleaning drinking water and treating the injured.
Fever, diarrhea, respiratory infections and
skin diseases are spreading among victims of
the worst flooding. The United Nations has confirmed
at least one case of cholera in flood-ravaged
Swat valley of Pakistan. There is a vast majority
of expecting mothers in these affected areas,
so there is also a great concern for safe birthing.
UNICEF says that 6 million
children have been affected by the floods in
Pakistan with some 2.7 million children in need
of urgent, life-saving assistance.
It is Ramadan in Pakistan.
I and my family have decided not to spend on
this coming Eid day and to use this money for
arranging the needful for the affected people.
What help is urgently needed;
The scale of the emergency
means more and more medical supplies will be
needed. The first important thing is to provide
shelter, food, clean drinking water, health
supplies, high energy biscuits, and clothing
for women and children. Psychosocial support
is also important.
Medical supplies include
Bandages, sterilized gauzes, anti-diarrheal,
IV-canulas, IV- giving sets, Ringer Lactate
infusions, Anti-malarial, anti-pyretics, analgesics,
antibiotics, skin preparations, and eye preparations.
Vaccines are needed urgently
Sterilized gloves,
sterilized cord clamps, sterilized naval cord
cutters, anti-septic, soaps, plastic sheets
are also needed for safe birthing.
Donations can be sent directly to Dr Butt
Emails for contact
details: drmanzoor@ymail.com
, or to MEJFM at admin@mediworld.com.au
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