Lack of drainage facilities can adversely impact flood-hit areas: PRCS

The Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) on Saturday said lack of drainage facilities can worsen situation in inundated areas during the winter, therefore all the remaining water should be flushed out through a co-ordinated effort. "We need a permanent drainage plan for whole country for dealing with similar calamities in future", said PRCS Chairman Major General Chaudhry Muhammad Nawaz Khan (Retd) while talking to media after visiting flood-hit areas.
He said that draining stagnant water from various affected localities should be the top priority to avoid additional problems. Muhammad Nawaz Khan said that PRCS will extend medical cover to the victims of flood affected areas for three months besides provision of six water filtration plants for DG Khan, Rajanpur, Jacobabad, Qamber Shadad Kot, Nasirabad and Jaferabad with a capacity of 3,000 litre per hour.
He added that he visited affected areas with an aim to get first-hand knowledge about the needs of the people and to further gear up the relief and medical operations within available resources. General Nawaz said "our sixteen medical teams are working in affected areas, which have so far treated over 28,000 patients suffering from scabies, diarrhoea, and malaria." Three Mobile Health Units (MHUs) are functioning in Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur and while seven MHUs are serving in Sindh in the districts of Jacobabad, Shikarpur,,Khairpur, Sukkur and Qamber Shadad Kot, he informed. Six MHUs are discharging duties in the areas of Qila Safiullah, Loralai, Sibbi, Dera Murad Jamali, Dera Allah Yar and Jhal Magsi, he added.
The Chairman said that the PRCS in collaboration with International Federation of Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), other partners and donors is assisting 7,500 families with food, non-food items, emergency health and portable shelters. PRCS is also undertaking the Integrated Recovery Programme (IRP) in KPK, Punjab and Sindh, which cover livelihood, shelter, water, sanitation and health; 75 per cent of IRP in KPK, 50 per cent in Sindh and 30 per cent in Punjab has been completed.