Flood-affected children: ChildLife activates disaster management strategy

KARACHI: The ChildLife Foundation has activated a rapid-response disaster management strategy in the flood-hit areas and is providing emergency medical treatment to children of Sindh and Balochistan, in partnership with the government.

ChildLife’s modern paediatric Emergency Rooms (ERs) in flood-hit Larkana, Sukkur, Hyderabad, Nawabshah and Quetta are treating over 3,000 children daily free of cost, with life-saving medicines and quality care.

Dr Ahson Rabbani, the CEO of ChildLife Foundation, says, “Due to floods, an outbreak of waterborne illnesses is imminent amongst the 30 million people affected. Children face an increased risk of disease and death if urgent and timely help is not delivered.

ChildLife is working on overdrive and giving emergency treatment to flood-affected children who are arriving at our ERs with complaints of waterborne infections, including acute watery diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid and skin ailments. By providing immediate medical relief, we are saving thousands of children everyday.”

ChildLife’s team of more than 500 personnel, including healthcare and management professionals, is working on-ground 24/7 in all 30 districts of Sindh and 33 districts of Balochistan. In addition, the foundation is facilitating specialised consultations for children in the remotest of regions through its telemedicine network.

ChildLife’s experienced telemedicine doctors are providing 24/7 consultations to children in districts and Tehsils of Sindh and Balochistan that are otherwise inaccessible and cut off from most medical relief.

“ChildLife Foundation was born in the aftermath of the devastating 2010 floods. Today, ChildLife is mobilizing its resources and experience gained in the past 12 years in critical flood-hit locations. We are on the ground 24/7 during this challenging time and are making a life-saving difference,” Dr. Rabbani added.

Since 2010, ChildLife has saved more than 4.5 million children in the country in its 12 state-of-the-art children’s ERs and 72+ telemedicine satellite centers through free of cost treatment. The organization is growing its network to cover every district of every province by 2030 to achieve its mission of a child-safe Pakistan.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022