WHO refurbishes 63 health facilities damaged by devastating climate disasters in KP
PESHAWAR, (NNI): World Health Organization (WHO), in its strive for ensuring health service, has refurbished around 63 health facilities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that had become almost non-functional after being badly impacted by climate induced disasters especially the devastating floods of 2022.
The initiative of refurbishment of health facilities was taken in response to the disastrous floods in Pakistan during year 2022 and other climate change related incidents including erratic rains, hailstorms, windstorms etc, said Dr. Babar Alam, WHO head in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Talking to APP after inauguration of a flood affected Basic Health Unit (BHU) at Kotkay village in Charsadda district, Dr. Babar said the rehabilitation process is in progress in the whole country.
The refurbished health facilities in KP are in districts including Charsadda, Chitral, D.I. Khan, Kohistan Upper, Nowshera, Swat, Tank, Hangu, Dir Lower, Haripure, Manshera and
Abbottabad.
The rehabilitated health facilities included Basic Health Units (BHUs), Rural Health Centers (RHCs), Labor Rooms, Tehsil Headquarter Hospital etc.
Around 15 health facilities are renovated in Dera Ismail Khan (D.I. Khan) district of KP witnessing maximum damage due to 2022 floods. Similarly, 11 health providing buildings were revamped in Swat district.
For improvement of routine immunization, WHO has supported the refurbishment of seven Divisional Expanded Programme for Immunisation (EPI) halls in Mardan, Hangu, D.I. Khan, Bannu, Swat, Manshera and Abbottabad.
Similarly twenty Labor Rooms were refurbished and made operational for provision of necessary health facilities to expecting mothers and new born at their door steps in districts including five in D.I.Khan, five in Swat, four in Tank, one in Hangu, one in Charsadda, two in Kohistan Upper, one in Lower Dir and one in
Haripure.
Dr. Babar said these initiatives have been taken with cooperation of Health Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and service facilities are restored with provision of required human resources and medicine.
Appreciating the goodwill gesture by global organization, WHO, local people present on the occasion highly hailed the initiative and said destruction of BHU Kotkay had caused a lot of problems and inconvenience to them.
Hundreds of people including men and women had to visit different areas for getting medical treatment due to destruction of the BHU in their locality by raging floods in August 2022, they added.
Talking to people, Dr. Babar held out assurance that WHO will continue its support to people in getting necessary health facilities within the vicinity of their homes and for this purpose different initiatives will be taken time and again.