Islamabad: The World Health Organization (WHO) has dispatched over 300,000 essential medical items to health departments across Pakistan. This crucial pre-positioning aims to strengthen the country’s response to potential health emergencies anticipated during the upcoming monsoon season.
The five trucks contain over 2,400 boxes containing medicines and medical supplies that have been distributed among the health departments of four provinces (Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Punjab) and Pakistan-administered Kashmir (PAK). Based on the provincial medicine contingency plans for the period from July to October, these supplies are being pre-positioned solely for potential emergency responses in the event of natural disasters triggered by heavy rains, flooding or related disease outbreaks.
The pre-positioning of medical stocks is part of the preparations in support of Pakistan’s Monsoon Contingency Plan 2025. Under the leadership of the Ministry of Health, and with support from WHO and partners, the objective of this Contingency Plan is to ensure preparedness to provide, when necessary, emergency health assistance to 1.3 million vulnerable people across 33 priority districts.
“WHO emergency teams are working in close collaboration with Pakistan’s health departments across the country to pre-position medicines and medical items that would allow a rapid response to save lives. We are proud to partner with Pakistan to deliver health for all and build resilience to better adapt and respond to the increasing frequency and severity of climate-related hazards, protecting the most vulnerable,” said WHO Representative in Pakistan Dr Dapeng Luo.
Pakistan was ranked as the 8th most affected country by extreme weather events between 2000 and 2019 in the Global Climate Risk Index 2021, due to recurring severe natural disasters, including floods, droughts, heatwaves and pandemics. Among these, monsoon-induced floods remain the most recurrent and destructive, with catastrophic impacts on human health, livelihoods and infrastructure.
