Nowshera: Women and children first

According to the district administration, over 700 families are living in three tent villages run by different aid agencies at Misal Abad, Zarian Abad and Khandar areas. In addition to these families, people, who have returned to their homes, are too living in tents and makeshift structures because their houses are fully destroyed and they don’t have the resources to build them again. The tents and makeshift structures don’t protect them adequately from the harsh
weather, making the inmates, particularly women and children, vulnerable to pneumonia and other chest infections.

The flood victims, particularly children, are becoming ill from cold related causes because many are living in non-winterised tents, and there are shortages of
dry firewood, fuel and other materials, such as adequate clothing, needed to create warmth, relates Muhammad Naeem, a flood survivor.

People living in tents use different methods to keep themselves warm, including Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in cylinders for cooking and heating the tents, which has proved to be a dangerous option according to Abdul Hameed, Assistant Coordination Officer (ACO), Nowshera. Last week five people, including three children and a woman, were burnt to death at a Khandar relief camp, when fire suddenly broke out in a tent. Nawab Khan, head of the family was away from home, when his entire family met with sudden death.

According to Mr Hameed, some flood survivors use firewood for heating, while some have put additional plastic sheets and tarpaulin over the tents to keep them protected from the cold.

The district administration is encouraging the flood survivors to go back to their native localities and start reconstructing their houses, but the main issue is the lack of resources. Similarly, a majority of the people living in tent villages were living in rented houses before the flood and now since their landlords are unable
to reconstruct the damaged houses, they have nowhere to go and are dependent on government and international aid agencies.

Executive District Officer (Health), Nowshera, Dr Sabaz Ali Khan, says different respiratory infections are common diseases during winter even in normal circumstances. He, however, concedes that intensity of such diseases can be high among flood survivors because they do not have proper arrangements to cope
with the cold. Arrangements have been made to counter an epidemic situation in the district, a number of beds have been specified for the treatment of patients
with chest conditions at Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, Pabbi and District Headquarters Hospital, Nowshera.

Similarly, donor agencies, providing healthcare facilities in the camps have also been given support to augment their services in the wake of harsh winter, he
explains. Recently, the vaccination campaigns were undertaken to avoid spread of infectious diseases among children and the adult population of the flood hit
areas.  Dr Khan claims that situation in terms of public health management is in control and there is no possibility of the spread of any infectious diseases in the
district.