Alarming child mortality rates in parts of southern Pakistan
By Hadi Husani
Source: International Medical Corps (IMC)
13 Dec 2010 As floodwaters slowly recede across inundated areas of Pakistan, the international community and national authorities are discovering the true impact of this emergency. Given its flat terrain and semi-arid soil, significant parts of Sindh province in the south remain under water. Dadu District in Sindh has been assessed as one of the worst affected. At the height of the emergency, tens of thousands of people there struggled to survive on small, isolated islands or “Bunds” scattered across a once-fertile plain. Only the sporadic distribution of food and basic supplies from the Pakistani military and the humanitarian community sustained the population in the months since flooding began. With the ebbing of floodwaters, and the opening up of access routes to NGOs and the army, there are large pockets of flood-displaced populations that have received little or no support to date. In addition, initial assessments show alarming mortality rates of children under five in this district – as high as 25 percent. As the true scale of this “emergency within an emergency” becomes apparent, and new pockets of the displaced as well as new medical facilities become accessible, International Medical Corps is preparing to join the government of Pakistan and the World Health Organization in deploying emergency medical teams to meet the critical needs of the displaced in Dadu. Following monsoon rains that have unleashed the worst flooding in Pakistan in 80 years, International Medical Corps continues to support displaced people through 104 medical teams serving the hardest hit areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Punjab and Sindh Province. …
