Dr Palitha Mahipala, WHO representative and head of mission, handed over a donation of Rs135 million to Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, minister of health and population welfare, Sindh, in Karachi on Friday to strengthen flood response activities in the province.
The World Health Organisation is supporting the Sindh health department for strengthening essential medical services, outreach mobile health and maternal services.Dr Mahipala handed over three mobile medical units and one labour room unit to the health minister at a ceremony. The mobile units are fully equipped with all necessary equipment, supplies, a portable ultrasound machine and power backup, i.e. a solar system and a generator.
Dr Pechuho appreciated WHO’s support and thanked Dr Mahipala for extended support to Sindh. She added that the mobile units would help in the provision of integrated medical care such as OPD, AN/PN care, family planning, EPI and lab services along with provision of safe deliveries in rural areas of Sindh.
WHO is also supporting the Sindh health department for the provision of safe drinking water.Dr Mahipala donated 500 water filtration plants to support safe drinking water to primary healthcare facilities in Sindh. In the recent past, two water filtration plants with the capacity of 5,000 litres water per hour were established with the support of WHO in Dadu and Kamber.During the ceremony, WHO also donated worth of more than Rs50 million medicines and supplies to the health department.
The consignment included essential medicines such as antimalarials, antipyretics, antibiotics, infusions, ORS, etc.
The health minister thanked the WHO representative in Pakistan for extending support for flood relief efforts for Sindh.
The meeting and handing over ceremony was attended by Sindh government and WHO representatives, the parliamentary secretary of health, the health secretary, the EPI programme director, the deputy directors of the health department, the WHO head of office in Sindh and the WHO team of Lead Polio.
