At risk

Children and women are the most vulnerable group in the case of any disaster. This has been especially noteworthy during the recent floods, with the most vulnerable affectees being pregnant women who are having to give birth under conditions that lack proper facilities. According to reports, over 4,000 women have delivered babies in relief camps set up for flood victims in the past two months. Displaced people are in general at the mercy of the elements but even more hapless are those who have come to this world under circumstances that are unhealthy and unhygienic. Health experts have been warning about this impending challenge as pregnant women are completing their gestation period and babies are born without proper care and in the absence of qualified and trained medical professionals. With the winter already descending on the relief camps, there is hardly any warm place to go for women and their newborns.

The health of most flood victims is below par and a major cause of this is malnutrition already prevalent among rural women. Coupled with a lack of nutrition is the problem of health complications and underlying conditions that cause various diseases and maladies. Reports also reveal that there are another over 4,000 lactating mothers who may be at a high risk of infections. In all, the number of women with their newborns and infants is in the thousands. Of course, these numbers exclude those women and children who are not included in the official database from relief camps. Keeping in view the fact that not all affected people are in camps, it is likely that thousands of other women are scattered across the province in need of medical care.

Safe pregnancy is a right of every woman and it is for the government in any civilized country to provide pre- and post-natal care to all mothers and children. In addition to proper labour room facilities and operation theatres for immediate relief, there is also an urgent need to plan for eliminating – or at least reducing – malnutrition among pregnant women and new mothers. The flood-hit areas do not have any more basic health units functioning, as most of them have been swept away. It will take months or even years before the vanished health facilities are restored. In the meantime, these ruined lives need rehabilitation and for that they need healthcare and medicine.