Following monsoon rains that unleashed the worst flooding in Pakistan in 80 years, International Medical Corps continues to support displaced people through 97 medical teams serving the hardest hit areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Punjab and Sindh Province. The organization has provided more than 985,480 total health consultations to date and is also offering psychological support and health and hygiene education as well as nutrition, protection, water and sanitation, and economic recovery services in all three provinces.
Government figures indicate as many as 1.7 million homes have been damaged or destroyed, with 20 million people affected. In addition to medical services, International Medical Corps has deployed psychologists and hygiene promoters to address mental health and hygiene needs in the worst affected districts, including Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshera, and Swat. Teams are providing health education on hygiene & sanitation, including the prevention of diarrhea, scabies, and ARI. To date, International Medical Corps has provided health and hygiene education to more than 932,775 people. As the organization makes mental health care a priority in emergency relief efforts, International Medical Corps is also providing psychosocial support including teaching local coping mechanisms to help those whose lives have been devastated by the floods. Psychosocial teams have identified people with depression, anxiety, and significant psychological distress. To date, they have provided psychological support to more than 31,900 people.
International Medical Corps also continues to provide medical services to those affected by both conflict and floods in the Swat and Buner regions. Field teams have conducted a rapid assessment of the areas which were already undergoing rehabilitation from the 2009 conflict in the region. Government health facilities, along with equipment and supplies, have been partially or totally destroyed by flooding, and require urgent rehabilitation.
International Medical Corps has been operating in Pakistan since 1984, providing primary health care services and water/sanitation facilities to displaced Pakistanis as well as to Afghan refugees in the frontier areas.