Participants of the briefing session organised by Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat) strongly urged the government to collaborate with all stakeholders while launching campaigns in flood affected areas.
Lack of co-ordination in handling calamity has caused serious delivery implications in the past and in this time of difficulty the same dilemma was faced. Media including local and regional FM channels should be used as a tool to promote the cause, was suggested by the participants of the session. Addressing on the occasion, Faisal Karim Kundi, Deputy Speaker National Assembly said that donor agencies should also be taken on board so that entire picture could be seen.
"We hear that international organisations are doing a great effort but we being parliamentarians remain unaware of all happenings. We should see the actual situation," said Kundi adding that all the Parliamentarians should unite on one platform in this time of difficulty. We all are affected of this flood so we need to be united to meet this challenge beyond the party boundaries, he added.
Ahmed Bilal Mehboob said it is time to address the need of immunisation when floods have caused devastations in several parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Sindh province. He said emergency immunisation campaign is required to vaccinate pregnant mothers and children against diseases like cholera, measles, malaria, diarrhea, scabies, polio, hepatitis and other water born diseases, he added.
It is estimated that more than 85,000 babies expected to be born in the country's flood-affected areas over the next six months will be mal nourished because of scarce food supply. There is also a serious threat of polio and measles outbreak amongst new-borns. He said to the participants of the session.
Azhar Abid Raza, Health Specialist, Unicef in his presentation told the audience that in 77 districts more than two million children under the age of 5 have direct threat of Measles and Polio. Emergency vaccination efforts are required to protect the most vulnerable group in emergencies-pregnant women and children.
Immunisation will protect more than 20 percent of the displaced population from vaccine preventable diseases (VPD); Polio, Measles, Hepatitis, Diptheria, whooping cough, tetanus, childhood tuberculosis and influenza (Hib). Immunisation can avert a large number of childhood illnesses and deaths from the immediate threat of a Measles outbreak. Nearly 126,000 diseases and 600 deaths averted through measles vaccination with Vitamin A Supplementation and mothers and their newly born children can be saved from Tetanus. Nutritional Support to pregnant women and children through high-energy food supplements is also required.
Establishing child friendly spaces wherein educational and recreational facilities as well as psycho-social support is our priority. We are working for the revival of damaged and interrupted EPI Services, support Lady Health Workers programme in re-establishing Health Houses and LHWs services. We aim to integrate immunisation during community based interventions - Mother and Child Weeks/Days.
Dr Altaf Bosan, National Programme Manager, Expanded Programme of Immunisation also presented the perspective of the National Programme of Immunisation while presenting the immediate response of Ministry to this calamity. Ministry guided all affected districts for immediate vaccination of all accessible children, he added to his presentation.
More than 50,000 children and pregnant women also received vaccination with Pentavalent vaccine and TT vaccine respectively. The most vulnerable group for vaccine preventable diseases is children below 5 year. There are more than 15 million children of this age group in the 77 flood affected districts. The number of children reached through the immediate response is very small and that doesn't mitigate the threat of large outbreaks.
Ministry of Health has planned to conduct a mass vaccination campaign targeting all children below 5 years with polio and measles vaccines and vitamin A in 77 flood affected districts. As a priority, 40 worst affected districts will be reached in Phase-1 and 37 moderately affected districts in Phase-2. The remaining 62 districts and 18 towns will be reached in Phase - 3, Phase-1 to be completed by September and Phase-2 by mid October, Phase-3 will be conducted in early 2011 as a part of an earlier plan for a nation-wide measles follow-up campaign
Senator Sabir Ali Baloch suggested that the awareness about importance of immunisation should reach the parents of the children who are in most affected areas. Former Justice Fakhurun Nisa Khokar, MNA denied all the efforts that the Government has claimed to achieve in health sector of affected areas. She harshly disclosed the fact that there are no essential health centres or immunisation centres in the areas of South Punjab like Jampur,. Shah Jamal, Kotmithan, Baseera and Kot addu. Pregnant mothers of the area are in helpless condition and waiting for relief. Lieutenant General Abdul Qadir Baloch (Retd), MNA, said that practical measures are required to face the calamity.