Afghanistan sends more medical assistance to flood-hit Pakistan

[News_Editor]

Afghanistan sends more medical assistance to flood-hit Pakistan

2010-10-04 15:29:17 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL/ISLAMABAD (BNO NEWS) -- As survivors of Pakistan's floods continue to face growing health problems, the World Health Organization in Afghanistan on Monday rushed emergency medical aid for Pakistanis living in the worst-affected areas of the country.

The over 1,200 kilogram-weighing dispatch airlifted on a UN charter aircraft bound for Islamabad contained 160,000 Rapid Diagnostic Tests that will be used to diagnose malaria - a potentially lethal disease - in flood victims on-site.

Receding flood waters, especially in endemic areas, provide a breeding ground for malaria at a time when diagnostic capacity is affected. In such cases, RDTs - sometimes called "dipsticks" - are an alternative to diagnosis based on clinical grounds or microscopy, particularly where good quality microscopy services cannot be readily provided.

"These life-saving medical supplies are meant to reach communities - especially children and (pregnant) women - worst-hit by the continuing crisis in neighboring Pakistan," said Peter Graaff, Representative of the WHO in Afghanistan. "In addition, we deployed a number of our health experts specializing in early detection and response to disease outbreaks, among other areas of public health expertise that are most urgently needed by our colleagues in Pakistan."

Graaff said the flood assistance will not hinder its ability to respond to potential and ongoing disasters in Afghanistan itself. "We stand ready to address health needs of not only the Afghan people but also those of our flood-stricken neighbors," he added.

Guido Sabatinelli, WHO Representative in Pakistan, welcomed the aid. "The cross-border assistance extended to us by the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Public Health in Afghanistan has been crucial in this critical moment of emergency and proved to be very timely and effective in addressing the ever-growing risk of communicable diseases, particularly malaria," he said. "Colleagues and emergency medical supplies sent across from Kabul are now operating in some of the most vulnerable districts of Sindh and Punjab."

Pressing health needs in Pakistan include improving access to health care for the more than 18 million people affected by the flood emergency, including the 8 million in direct need of humanitarian assistance, monitoring and controlling water-borne and vector-borne diseases, providing enough medicines and related supplies are available to meet health demands, and ensuring coordination of the health sector response is strong and effective.

The floods in Pakistan, which began in July following heavy monsoon rains, have left more than 2,000 people killed and affected more than 21 million others.

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