Fear of water, food-borne diseases: Authorities urged to provide clean drinking water, quality food to flood affectees

News Desk

ISLAMABAD: Health experts on Sunday demanded the authorities concerned for stepping up efforts to ensure provision of clean-drinking water and quality food to the people affected by recent flood disasters in parts of the country.

They also urged upon them for an urgent announcement of the strategy to deal with the health crisis as almost 80 percent people are suffering from water-borne and skin diseases in the affected areas.

Dr Samreen Zaidi, an expert of respiratory infection disease, said that skin infections, acute respiratory disease, chest infections, diarrhea and malaria are leading health issues being faced by flood- affected people in Sindh, Balochistan and southern Punjab.

The outbreak of diseases in all flood-affected districts is extremely serious and could turn into a health emergency if not handled properly, Dr Zaidi warned.

Majority people, including women and children, are complaining of psychological distress after losing their homes, loved ones and livelihoods, the respiratory infection disease expert said.

She explained that hundreds of villages, towns, and cities are covered with ankle-deep water, adding that the most serious problem faced by people is non-availability of clean-drinking water as diseases like acute hepatitis and diarrhea are expected to go on peak in the current scenario.

Dr Zaidi stressed that the governments, both provincial and federal, need to take concrete steps in revamping the decades-old water drainage system of the cities on an emergency basis.

Dr Syed Faisal Mahmood, another infectious disease specialist, said that the governments should utilize their resources to establish field hospitals with essential treatment and prevention facilities for diseases, including diarrhea, malaria, dengue, chronic illnesses and mental health issues. More than 70 to 80 percent cases of skin allergies, diarrhea, gastrointestinal, fever and blood pressure problems were reported in these areas, adding that the cause of these infections were reportedly due to stagnant water and consumption and use of untreated water, Dr Faisal Mahmood added.

As rains continue, there is an urgent need to scale up disease surveillance, restore damaged health facilities, ensure sufficient medicines and health supplies to affected communities, he stressed.

Mosquitoes are also spreading rapidly in all floods-affected areas and leading to a high number of daily dengue cases, he highlighted.

Experts expressed fears that the cases of malaria are continuously increasing due to water contamination in the flood affected areas of the country.