• She shared these figures during a meeting with journalists from international media outlets.
• She said as the weather is getting colder, she added, which is leading to pneumonia and other respiratory diseases.
• She said that unfortunately most of the hospitals are overburdened with IDPs who need treatment and almost every OPD is functioning at over 100% capacity

KARACHI: Health Minister Sindh, Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho on Tuesday claimed that the Sindh government and health department have managed to treat 3.9 million flood affectees till now out of a total of 7.4 million displaced in the province.

She shared these figures during a meeting with journalists from international media outlets. This press briefing was called so that the international media stays up to date with the challenges being faced by Sindh amidst the catastrophic floods of 2022.

Dr. Pechuho said that she called this press briefing to give detail of the health emergency in Sindh with the floods and now that the water has been standing for months, there has been a shift in disease patterns. She said as the weather is getting colder, she added, which is leading to pneumonia and other respiratory diseases.

She said that unfortunately most of the hospitals are overburdened with IDPs who need treatment and almost every OPD is functioning at over 100% capacity. Extra beds and paediatric units are being established to accommodate the increase in patients.

Dr. Azra Pechuho said that one of the worst emergencies we are facing as a collective are malnutrition, septicemia, inflammation of the brain due to malaria, meningitis, etc. She further said that she is grateful to our international partners and donors who have come forward with medical aid, especially in the way of medicine, as we are not in a deficiency regarding medicine, at the very least.

Health facilities have been damaged to a large degree and therefore are non-functional, the equipment within these facilities has also been damaged due to the floods.

Minister for Health also stated that she is glad that there was a mother and child healthcare unit that was built in Nawabshah last year as this year it is being used for the treatment of IDP maternal and child healthcare.

She said that she has called this forum to inform the international media of the intricacies of the obstacles that are being faced and the work that is being done by the Sindh Health Department.

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Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho said that JPMC will be opening a mental health unit with psychiatrists and psychologists and they will be providing counselling via telehealth to district and tertiary hospitals across the province with a special focus on prioritising IDPs.