The more than 110 international staff and 1,200 Pakistani staff have now been joined by health promotion workers, employed by MSF, who play a vital role in raising people’s awareness about health risks.
An MSF doctor provides medical care to victims of the floods in Pakistan. August 2010
Photo by Ton Koene
For example, during distributions, the health promotion workers show people how to use water purification tablets to water safe for drinking. Relief packages distributed typically include 20 purification tablets, which when used properly, means that a family of seven can have safe, clean water for a period of two weeks.
“It’s worrisome that some families with small pumps at home have started using their water source again. This is not good because the water is still contaminated, and this can lead to many waterborne diseases. We will continue to provide safe water until we can put in place a system to check if the water is good enough for daily use,” explained Muhammad Shakeel, a member of MSF’s water and sanitation team in Nowshera.
Health workers are also raising awareness about nutrition issues as concerns grow that the malnutrition situation in some areas is worsening.
For a more detailed report on the work our teams are doing in Pakistan, click here
In Baluchistan and upper Sindh, in areas like Usta Muhammad, Dera Allar Yar and Ganakhathe, rising water levels of the Indus river have forced nine out of ten people to leave their homes. In south of Kashmor, and south of Sindh, floods have also forced poor families to seek refuge on higher ground. Teams have now started distributing relief items and launched three new mobile clinics to provide free medical services to the flood affected communites in Sindh.
More than 16,664 consultations have been provided to people affected by the floods in different areas across Pakistan by MSF medics and treatment centres have been set up across the country to treat people suffering from acute watery diarrhoea and in preparation for the possibility of outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as cholera.