The devastating floods in Pakistan and their aftermath severely disrupted the delivery of health services, with 10% of the country’s health facilities either damaged or destroyed and more than eight million people in urgent need of health assistance.
WHO has been on the ground responding to this crisis, where the risk of disease outbreaks and malnutrition is extremely high, focusing on scaling up providing health care, disease surveillance and outbreak control.
The devastating floods affecting Pakistan in Summer 2022 displaced huge numbers of people and significantly impacted the population’s health, particularly children. A dangerous combination of reduced health services owing to damaged buildings, and
overcrowded rudimentary shelters with inadequate access to safe water and sanitation have allowed infectious diseases to flourish.
Outbreaks of measles and rubella have been recorded in 31 districts across the country. In response, WHO carried out a measles-rubella vaccination campaign in 38 districts across the country. Some 1.8 million children aged between six months and 59 months
have been vaccinated as part of this campaign, helping to control transmission of these diseases.
The vaccination campaign forms an integral part of the wider WHO response designed to support the Pakistani Government in its flood recovery and rehabilitation efforts. WHO is now focusing on enhancing surveillance efforts to support the delivery of targeted
and faster health services, as data shows major measles outbreaks are likely to occur in early 2023 if effective mitigating measures are not implemented.
Dr Palitha Mahipala, WHO Representative to Pakistan, said: “The success of the measles-rubella campaign in flood-prone areas was made possible by the dedication of health workers. Every day, they ensured that every child in the target locations
was reached. We owe a great deal to their hard efforts.”
A WHO-led response in Singh Province also includes emergency vaccination campaigns and mobile health camps in settlements for people displaced by floods. As part of the effort, more than 2,500 vaccinators have been tasked with delivering routine immunizations
in 23 flooded areas of the province. “We're unsure whether our transportation will be adequate to get us to the destination because most roads are either damaged or submerged,” said Nizam ud din, one of the frontline vaccinators.
As Pakistan continues to struggle with the effects of the devastating floods, polio health workers on the ground are playing their part by setting up critical health camps, providing basic clinical services, ensuring treatment of water-borne and vector-borne
diseases, and distributing water purification tablets. The high transmission season for polio risks being particularly intense given the floods so the polio program is adapting its operations, to ensure polio eradication efforts can continue amidst
the tragedy.
“I have been fortunate enough to be present when a number of countries successfully eradicated polio,” commented Dr Hamid Jafari, Director for Polio Eradication at the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean.
“Rarely have I seen such commitment and dedication than I have seen in Pakistan – from national, political leaders, to health workers, right to the mother and father on the ground. To all who are involved, all I can say is: Thank you!
You are making a huge difference to people’s lives, which goes far beyond the effort to eradicate polio.”
