ISLAMABAD: The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is emphasizing the importance of implementing comprehensive rehabilitation programs that cater to the long-term needs of communities affected by the 2022 floods.
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IRC provides health facilities in South Waziristan
PESHAWAR: The International Rescue Committee (IRC) provided health facilities through launching a program on Thursday namely “Strengthening Healthcare including Nutrition in Emergencies” (SHiNE), to facilitate the people in Orakzai and South Waziristan districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Through this program 150,000 people have so far benefitted from the state-of-the-art health facilities set up in their areas. Among them are 45,000 women and children, who previously had to travel long distances to avail of basic health services.
Over 12,000 women and children have been screened for malnutrition and 1,390 cases have been enrolled in community-based programs for rehabilitation. It has also proved instrumental in creating awareness about hygiene, healthcare services and increasing their uptake.
The initiative is launched with the support of the European Union (EU), and in partnership with the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Medical Emergency Resilience Foundation (MERF).
The program also focuses on improving access to health facilities by strengthening the system to cater to specific needs under maternal, newborn, and child health care. It covers integrated Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) activities, in the vicinity of the targeted health facilities coupled with awareness-raising for infection prevention and improved health-seeking behavior.
The IRC has urged the federal and provincial governments to mainstream integrated health interventions that are tailored to the unique needs of the most vulnerable populations across the country.
The Country Director of the IRC, Shabnam Baloch, said “Our recent experience of working in South Waziristan and Orakzai districts has shown that integrated health interventions targeting the specific needs of vulnerable populations can go a long way in service improvements, community engagement, encouraging long-term public-private partnerships, and systems strengthening. These are all necessary prerequisites to increase coverage, efficiency, and the quality of healthcare services.”
Chief Executive Officer at MERF, Dr. Shah Miran stated, “For the first time in decades the provision of comprehensive healthcare services has been ensured in hard to reach areas like Mamoozai in Orakzai and Angor Adda in South Waziristan while the people of Shaktoi belt in Anakhel have finally witnessed the operationalization of a Basic Health Unit (BHU) in their area which remained non-functional for over two decades.”
This public-private partnership has played a key role in revitalizing the health systems, encouraged repatriation, and created a strong public demand for the continuity of such services.
Dr. Shah Miran also added, “The provision of nutrition supplies in the target areas that have food insecurity and acute malnutrition as high as 20%, is not less than a blessing at a time when inflation, starvation, and lack of agricultural productivity are already taking a toll on the poorest of households.”
The SHiNE intervention, which is in direct support of the provincial government’s ongoing efforts to provide uninterrupted quality healthcare to the underserved populations of the NMDs deserves greater attention by policymakers and legislators.
Important lessons learned from this program, if replicated and mainstreamed can have a lasting, positive impact on Pakistan’s overall health & nutrition indicators.
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IRC launches rain relief operation in Balochistan
ISLAMABAD: International Rescue Committee (IRC) on Wednesday launched a relief operation in Balochistan were the torrential rains have ruined the normal life in the province. Due to flash floods and rain, many people have been killed and around 150,000 population are in the need of humanitarian assistance.
An emergency has been declared in the provincial metropolitan city followed by relief operations at all levels.
The assistant commissioner said that the wards and emergency room of Muslim Bagh Civil Hospital were flooded, while rain in the hilly areas of Muslim Bagh damaged more than 100 houses. Most of the access roads to remote areas of Qila Saifullah, Zhob, and Harnai have been affected, hampering rescue operations in several areas.
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A Pishin administration official said hundreds of mud-houses were washed away or badly damaged in Malikyar, Don Khanozai and Sheikhmalzai areas of Pishin as floodwater coming from hilly areas of Burshor lashed the area.
Given the rapidly deteriorating situation, the IRC has initiated response activities in Pishin and Quetta districts. With the financial aid of German Federal Foreign Office, the IRC’s internal funds and support of its on-ground partner, the People’s Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI), the IRC has launched a rapid emergency response within 24 hours of the declaration of emergency, which is being implemented in close coordination with the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, Balochsitan.
CEO of PPHI, Esfandyar Baloch said, “We have so far set up three free medical camps in the flood-affected areas. More than 500 Afghan refugees and host communities have so far availed the services.”
He further said that under this rapid response, more than 350 food packages and over 250 dignity kits are being distributed among the affected population.
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Muhammad Shareef, IRCs Head of Office, Balochistan, said, “The needs of the target beneficiaries will inevitably be affected by inflation and poverty. The opportunity cost of food items will, in all likability be the healthcare. We understand this dilemma and our efforts are geared towards providing maximum possible relief to those most in need.”
Shabnam Baloch, IRCs Country Director said, “To minimize the adversity caused by natural disasters, the relevant actors need to plan beyond the immediate response and work closely with geologists, environmentalists, and researchers to examine, assess, and review potential future climate risks to timely alert the decision-makers.”
She also added that it is equally important to understand that natural calamities further aggravate the vulnerability of women and girls and so, any response or management efforts must be designed keeping their unique protection issues in mind.
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The IRC has also responded to similar emergencies in the past by providing a humanitarian response in terms of food items, non-food items, and basic healthcare camps. The organization is currently also coordinating with the district and provincial disaster management authorities to keep them abreast with the situation and provide relief updates from the target districts.