News
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
UNFRA warns of fatal risks to pregnant women in flood-hit areas
* According to estimates, nearly 500,000 out of the 21 million flood-affected women are pregnant
By Zeeshan Javaid
ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Population Fund (UNFRA) warned on Tuesday that thousands of pregnant women displaced by floods face heightened risks of death and disability unless relief efforts are increased to meet their needs.
According to UNFPA estimates, nearly 500,000 out of the 21 million flood-affected women are pregnant and every day around 1,700 of them go into labour, and more than 250 of them would experience complications, which call for lifesaving medical intervention. Yet most of those displaced in the crisis still lack access to proper health services, including skilled delivery assistance.
Noor Bano, 32, is an exception. She was anaemic and exhausted when her labour pains started on September 5. Her flight from her flood-affected area had included a three-hour trek, in which she had to carry two small children, and shelter for two days beneath a bridge without food or water.
But Noor ended up in a camp in Sukkur, visited regularly by a UNFPA-supported medical team. They gave Noor a prenatal exam and left a phone number. Noor’s mother-in-law called the community midwife Farzana Sarki, who came to help Noor deliver her sixth baby in the family’s tent.
According to a UNFPA official, since early August, UNFPA had deployed obstetricians and midwives in 23 mobile teams and 14 health centres in the flood-affected areas. They have attended to some 1,500 births, treated 300 women suffering from miscarriages, and referred nearly 200 mothers to hospitals for Caesarean sections.
The official informed Daily Times that maternal mortality is high in Pakistan in normal times, the UN estimates that 320 women die for every 100,000 live births. Trauma, malnutrition and poor hygiene make the flood victims more vulnerable.
As part of the coordinated humanitarian response to Pakistan’s emergency, the UNFPA is focusing on safe delivery and other reproductive health concerns. It is helping assess needs for basic services as the floods continue to displace people, and restore damaged health centres and hospitals after waters recede.
“We urgently need to scale up reproductive healthcare to the flood victims,” said UNFPA Assistant Representative in Pakistan Dr Naseer Nizamani. “The number of women who still lack assistance is enormous. ”
Besides supporting health authorities in the flood-affected provinces, the UNFPA is conducting reproductive health training and offering critical supplies to non-governmental service providers. These range from clean delivery kits for births outside health facilities to medical instruments and essential medicines for clinics offering safe deliveries.
The fund is also, among other things, providing personal hygiene supplies and working to protect displaced women and girls from violence.
As estimates of flood damage and displaced people continue to grow, so do estimates of the resources required to respond. The UNFPA is currently seeking $12.6 million for relief and early recovery activities in the next 12 months. International donors have pledged $3.5 million to date.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk