PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Red Crescent Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has become the only humanitarian organization in the country that provided free medical facilities and medicines to over 100,000 flood-hit people at their doorstep in six months.
According to a press release issued on Thursday, Pakistan Red Crescent Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had established mobile medical units for the affected people in Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Nowshera, Charsadda, and Swat in August 2022.
A ceremony was held to appreciate the services of staff and volunteers during the emergency phase, where recognition certificates were distributed among the officials and volunteers who participated in the activities.
On the occasion, the Chairman of the PRCS Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said that the designations in institutions were temporary and every person working for humanitarian services was obliged to serve humanity.
He thanked the Norwegian Red Cross for their assistance during the flood situation in the province. He said that if the Norwegian Red Cross had not increased its resources, “we would not have been able to provide free treatment along with free medicines to the affected people at their doorstep in six months in the flood-affected areas of the province”.
The best thing about this facility was that it was provided at the doorstep of the affected people, he added.
He further stated that after the completion of the emergency phase, “our efforts are now towards rehabilitation, which includes the completion of initial surveys”.
In addition, work is underway on other projects, including the provision of cash for toilet construction, restoration of basic health facilities and the provision of expenses other than Insaaf sehat cards for the affectees in government hospitals in Nowshera, Swat, and DI Khan.
On the other hand, the head of the Norwegian Red Cross for Pakistan, Dr Aliyar Iftikhar, addressing the ceremony said that the Norwegian Red Cross was fully cooperating with the Pakistan Red Crescent Society throughout the country to help flood victims.
The aim was to assist the affected families in times of difficulty. So far, with the cooperation of the Norwegian Red Cross in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, help had been provided to over three hundred thousand people in one way or another, including the provision of medical facilities to more than a hundred thousand people, she added.
Secretary Pakistan Red Crescent Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Syed Ali Hasan informed that the number of beneficiaries who have been provided with medical facilities and medicines exceeds one hundred thousand, including 21,205 in Charsadda, 22,516 in Dera Ismail Khan, 37,769 in Tank, and 21,784 affected in Swat district.
According to the Pakistan Red Crescent Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, after the floods, from September to December, complaints of respiratory tract infection, urinary tract infections, Peptic Ulcer Diseases (GID), skin diseases, lower respiratory tract infections and diarrhea remained high among the affected people.
Afterwards, in January and February, cases of pneumonia, respiratory distress, and tuberculosis were identified, for which Pakistan Red Crescent provided free treatment and medications.
