2010-09-21
AMDA Emergency Bulletin #3: Floods in Pakistan

In response to the catastrophic flood disaster that struck Pakistan in late July, since Sept. 17th, the team of doctors from AMDA Headquarters is conducting ER activities in Thatta in the southern province of Sindh.

In collaboration with the National Rural Support Programme (NRSP), AMDA's local counterpart, from Sept. 17th to 18th the team conducted mobile clinic in Ghorabari, an hour-and-a-half south of Thatta.

At the evacuation camp set in the premises of a local high school, the team saw around 40 to 60 patients per day. Most of the patients were suffering from chronic diseases, upper respiratory infections, upper gastrointestinal infections and ear diseases, however neither malaria nor diarrhea patient was found. Some of the elderly patients were suffering from severe anemia and adenoid tumors, and serious dehydration and mal-nutrition were seen among young children.

The overflow of patients was the issue at the beginning, however, the congestion was somewhat alleviated later on as other relief organizations initiated a medical camp for children from Sept. 18th.

Meanwhile, the interviews conducted on site revealed that food assistance was seriously lacking as only 5 kg of flour was provided to each household in the last 15 days. They were neither satisfied with the quality of water they get as it is not purified. To improve this, NRSP decided to send food supplies to Ghorabari on Sept. 19th.

On Sept. 19th, AMDA Team, including AMDA President Dr. Suganami who arrived in Pakistan on the day before, headed to Daud Bhatti Village, an hour drive from Thatta. Although the place is a little away from Indus River, the houses were still under water and the residents (250 families) were evacuated in makeshift shelters on the bank. The team set up a temporal clinic in a shack and examined about 60 patients.

The meeting was also held between Dr. Suganami and Dr. Rashid Bajwa, the CEO of NRSP, who flew in from Islamabad, to discuss further initiatives.

While remaining active in Thatta, AMDA will continue to assess and seek for locations where assistance has not yet reached still now.

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