RMF Pakistan Update: Emergency Flood Relief and Outreach
AUGUST 06, 2010 - PAKISTAN
The news coming out of Pakistan is that the initial flooding estimates over the past few days were far too low, with government relief agencies now saying that at least 12 million people are affected and that it is clearly on track to be “the biggest disaster in the history of Pakistan”.
At least 650,000 houses have been destroyed; roads and electricity infrastructure have been severely decimated. Flood victims are so far receiving very little in emergency aid as their government has focused many of its limited resources in recent months on trying to contain the Taliban and at dealing with an economic crisis. In a region of this country already on the tipping point of becoming more disillusioned, it is more important than ever to offer whatever help we can.
Our Primary Health Care Clinic and staff are located in the state of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, directly in the area most affected by the flooding, and for the past week our doors have been open to accept the many flood victims from the surrounding area and villages.
The only other health facilities, the Balakot District Hospital and a second, smaller facility have been severely damaged by the flooding, leaving Real Medicine’s clinic as the only fully functioning health facility in Balakot Valley, an area with a population of over 150,000 people. Local government officials have asked RMF to be ready to accommodate the tremendous influx of patients they are expecting. RMF held 4 outreach health camps for flood victims in the same area in 2009 and we are gearing up to provide assistance again.
We greatly appreciate any additional support you may be able provide to ensure that our clinic is able to handle this huge increase in patient demand and that we can hopefully offer the same outreach to communities that are not able to reach our clinic.
For more information about our Flood Relief Efforts, please visit our website.
To contribute to our Flood Relief Efforts, visit our website at realmedicinefoundation.org
