Alia Haider’s Health Relief Camps Across Pakistan

My initial perception was that it was similar to 2010 flood. I casually asked my junior colleagues in South Punjab to visit affected areas and contribute in rescue operations as doctors. It was probably because of absolute neglect of the situation by the media and state of Pakistan which were focusing their attention solely on power politics. In mid August, suddenly I realized that situation was much worse than perceived. I spoke on social media, thankfully many voices were raised and everyone became aware of it. I requested my friends to include me in rescue services as paediatrician.

Comrade Usman of Haqooq E Khalq Party introduced me to Dr Alia Haider. Dr Alia is working in Lahore General Hospital these days as medical officer. She had started collecting funds from the beginning realising that it was a huge disaster and she had to do something. Being sister of renowned Hazara activist Jalila Haider, she has mutations of resistance and revolution in her genes.

Alia Haider belongs to Balochistan however, she chose to visit South Punjab first. I accompanied her as paediatrician. She had collected loads of medicines, some purchased by her herself, others donated directly to her. We had a team which included male and female doctors, all young and energetic, and other volunteers from Lahore with us. We stayed in DG Khan for 2 hours and reached Fazil Pur, worst affected area of “Wasaib”, same day. We were greeted by famous volunteer couple Izhar Syed and her poetess wife Sabahat Arooj. We immediately conducted our first medical camp. I, as paediatrician, saw more than hundred cases, most of them having dermatological problems like scabies, fungal infections, impetigo, dermatitis and eczema, others having water borne illnesses like suspected malaria, diarrhea, suspected enteric fever and UTI. I came to know that most life threatening issue was hunger, impending starvation and severe malnutrition in children below 5 year of age. Next day, we went to Taunsa Sharif which was already taking attention of many social workers. We searched for the most neglected populations and conducted a few more medical camps. We did not take rest and travelled and worked till night.

On our return, Dr Alia Haider engaged herself in collecting medicines and funds for our next destination which was to be Charsadda in KPK. Now she had better idea of what was needed more in flood areas. Our team was not formally trained for working in disaster like many others these days however, we were learning with experience and improving day by day. We reached Mardan after travelling for eight hours, took rest for couple of hours and reached a village in Charsadda. A local young man, Comrade Talha was accompanying us and was also acting as a guide. He told us tragic stories of angry waters. Although diseases were similar but we were more organised to manage them on this occasion. I saw hundreds of children suffering from all common flood diseases mentioned previously. Other team members treated adult men and women. We noticed that people who were already suffering from chronic illnesses were unable to obtain their routine medicines. Diabetics, hypertensives, asthmatics and epilepsy patients were suffering from acute episodes of high blood sugar, increased blood pressure, severe respiratory distress and seizures. Women were anemic and were having gynaecological and obstetric problems. We also observed psychological illnesses like insomnia, anxiety, depression and suspected post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Psychological and physical illnesses had led to fatigue in many people who were complaining of generalized body aches, headache, backache and joint pain.

Our next visit was of Balochistan. It was the longest and most tiresome journey for all of us. Like before, we had volunteers like Zameer Maan, Comrade Amjad Mehdi, Afrasiab, Hassan, Khalid Magsi and Awais Qarni Shaheen and doctors including Dr Adnan, Dr Jawad, Dr Haiqa, Dr Kanza and Dr Sana from Lahore with us. Bushra Mahnoor, renowned menstrual hygeine activist for under-privileged women also accompanied us. On this occasion Dr Alia Haider had collected much more medicines and other health care objects due to increased demand in this region. We reached Jacobabad after 12 hour long journey and stayed there. We couldn’t take much rest and on same day we were in Jafarabad for our first medical camp in flood. As before, I saw children mostly but adults as well as required. There was a malaria outbreak and 70-80% patients were suffering from suspected malaria. We were distributing antimalarial medicines like wholesalers. We worked for a few days in Jafarabad and then moved to Naseerabad which is worst flood affected district of Balochistan. Comrade Zaheer Baloch was our host, guide and helper in Dera Murad Jamali. We travelled hundreds of miles between waters, reached far, remote, neglected, oppressed, distressed and poor villages of Naseerabad. We saw malaria and skin diseases mostly but there were all kinds of patients. The situation was even worse and problems were much more complicated than they were in South Punjab and KPK. On this visit our team members themselves suffered both mentally as well as physically.

To conclude, it’s not Alia’s job to provide relief, it is responsibility of the state and government of Pakistan. We witnessed  that there was no support from the state on most of the centres. We demand government of Pakistan to deliver aid collected from all over the world transparently to deserved flood affected people. We also request our relatives, friends, people of Lahore and all countrymen to fund more and more to Dr Alia Haider who is planning to visit Swat and Gilgit-Baltistan next before her wedding which is fixed next month.