WHO country head visits flood-hit areas of Swat

MINGORA: World Health Organisation (WHO) country head Dr Palitha Gunarathna Mahipala visited the flood-affected areas of district Swat on Thursday.

District Health Officer Swat Dr. Muhammad Saleem Khan accompanied him on the visit. During the visit, he handed over medicines to the DHO Swat for the flood victims and visited the health centres in Matta and Madain areas.

During the visit, he administered the polio vaccine to the children and also met the patients and children in the hospitals. The delegation was given a detailed briefing on the flood disaster in Swat and the response and needs of the health department during the flood emergency.

Dr Palitha Gunarathna said that the WHO had completed the rapid health assessment for 13 flood-affected districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He added that the WHO is providing support to the Department of Health in emergency response, including the supply of medicines, equipment, and professional human resource services. The WHO representative also inaugurated the Emergency Operation Centre at the DHO Office, Swat.

The WHO representative also visited the residence of Sardar Waqar Shahzad Advocate, who is the National Commissioner of Pakistan Boy Scouts Association.

Speaking on the occasion, the lawyer hoped the WHO official’s visit would give him an opportunity to witness first-hand information and the havoc caused by the recent devastating floods. He requested the World Health Organisation (WHO to establish a basecamp in Swat for flood relief operations.

“I appreciate your efforts to come to a place hit by floods in its most initial days, and will lead to the cycle of suffering, as we are expecting all flood-related diseases like dengue, and malaria earlier than the rest of the country,” the lawyer explained.