After receiving a call for urgent help from a vulnerable community
in the Neelum valley in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, three IOM
Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) based in Muzaffarabad rushed to the
area.



The community in the village of Khanian were apparently suffering
from a ‘water-borne disease’. With an approximate
population of 5,000, children were suffering the most.



Following villagers’ claims that six children have died of
the disease in just two days, RRT doctors carried out a rapid
assessment of the area and found most of the children had diarrhoea
or gastroenteritis-like symptoms.



Five serious cases along with their parents were evacuated
immediately in IOM vehicles to AIMS Hospital Muzaffarabad, 20
kilometres from Khanian village. Sixteen more children from the
village were taken to Muzaffarabad hospital by the evening after
coordination with WHO, UNICEF and the hospital.



“At the village, we screened 50 cases in three hours and most
of the serious patients were between the ages of one and
five,” said Dr Abdul Waheed of Neelum Valley RRT.



“Doctors at the hospital have put the patients on life-saving
drugs and conducted tests to determine the exact nature of the
illness,” said Dr Farhan Naseem of Jheelum Valley RRT.



RRT doctors also discovered some villagers had pneumonia and gave
them instant medical assistance before referring them to nearby
health facilities.



The villagers complained to local and foreign journalists on the
ground that nobody came to their help except IOM Rapid Response
Teams.



The RRTs, supported by the American International Group Disaster
Relief Fund (AIG DRF), are operational in 10 high-risk valleys in
earthquake-affected areas which have seen heavy rains and snowfall
in recent days.



The inclement weather has suspended helicopter relief flights and
triggered landslides that have severed road links in different
parts of the quake-affected areas. The heavy rains have also
flooded streets with rainwater paralysing life in many cities
across the country.



With temperatures already falling below freezing during the nights
and weather pundits predicting that current rain and snowfall will
continue for a few more days, concerns are growing over the health
safety of those affected by the earthquake last year.





As part of its efforts to ensure people stay healthy and safe
during the winter, the RRTs have been working to strengthen health
care capacities in the region. First aid and first response
training to nearly 3,000 students, teachers and community members
in more than 27 sessions were carried out over a month.