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| February 27, 2006 | Monday | Muharram 28, 1427 |
Lack of adequate health care in quake-hit areas
PESHAWAR, Feb 26: Lack of women doctors was hindering the care of women in the quake-hit zone of the Frontier province, said an official of the World Health Organisation.
There was a need to focus on increased community participation to meet the medical needs of vulnerable groups such as pregnant women and children, he said, citing a WHO report issued last week.
Water quality tests found 38 per cent of the samples unfit for drinking in the Battagram area.
These samples were collected from water sources that had not been chlorinated, the report said. The WHO has distributed water testing kits to all agencies involved in relief and rehabilitation activities.
“Acute respiratory infection remains the most common health problem in Battagram has affected 42 per cent population under the age of five years and 29 per cent over five years,” it said, adding that four per cent suffered from injuries and six per cent from acute diarrhoea.
A survey carried out in two tent villages in Mansehra showed prevalence of scabies among less than five per cent of the population. According to the official, an assessment report of health situation in the Kohistan area showed that the affected population lacked health services.
It said that the 11 pre-fabricated basic health units were near completion in Balakot and Battagram. Six more pre-fabricated BHUs were being constructed in the Allai Valley to provide medical cover to 73,000 people.
The report dispelled the impression created in a section of the press about an outbreak of meningitis, saying that only one suspected case was reported by a private hospital in Balakot, but investigation showed that it was not meningitis.
It said that WHO is looking into ways and means to improve vaccination coverage in Battagram and other quake-hit areas after one suspected measles case was reported there.
Furthermore, nine suspected cases of suspected haemorrhagic fever were reported from civil hospital in Baffa tehsil of Mansehra, but showed it was not haemorrhagic fever.
The report found four out of nine water samples contaminated with coliform in Hassa and Talhatta villages of Balakot.
The report said that people in the quake zone, who had lost one or more of their relatives, were vulnerable to mental health problems.
It said mental health teams were organising sports and recreational activities in Battagram such as football and badminton.
The report said the world health agency had constructed 20 incinerators in addition to the nine already distributed to enhance solid waste management.
The WHO team was also looking into the gradual increase in the number of women patients with mental disorders, it said.
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