Pakistan

We have set up a COVID-19 screening centre at Timergara District Headquarters hospital in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the north, where MSF staff are screening around 1,350 people for COVID-19 symptoms daily. We are also providing consultations to people suspected to have the virus. Due to declining case numbers across the country, our 30-bed isolation ward now has a 30 per cent occupancy rate, although we are expecting an increase in patients during August due to Eid celebrations.

While our regular activities further south in Baluchistan remain suspended, we are supporting the Killa Abdullah District Hospital with personal protective equipment supplies, additional staff recruitment, water and sanitation expertise and training. We continue to assist with the building of the new COVID-19 isolation ward.

Across Pakistan, our teams are conducting extensive activities to raise awareness about COVID-19 protection and prevention. These activities include speaking to local communities and harnessing radio, newspapers and social media.

In Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, we have provided most of our Hepatitis C patients with enough medicine to cover their treatment for several months to allow them to avoid frequent clinic visits. We are currently investigating how to provide more support to the most vulnerable in the Machar Colony community.

Limited availability of medical and protective equipment supplies has had an impact on some of MSF’s other projects, which have been temporarily halted.

Government restrictions and sporadic violence pose operational challenges in Pakistan. The presence of armed militant groups and ongoing counter-terrorism operations hamper humanitarian access and there is a general distrust of aid workers.

Mother and Child Health

Healthcare for women and children is a serious concern in Pakistan. Women in rural areas die from preventable complications during pregnancy and delivery, and neonatal care is unavailable in many areas.

Near the Afghan border, MSF works with the Ministry of Health providing reproductive, newborn and paediatric healthcare. The team also manages an emergency room and offers inpatient and outpatient nutritional support for malnourished children under the age of five. These services are available to local residents, Afghan refugees and people who cross the border seeking medical assistance. 

MSF operates a comprehensive 24-hour emergency obstetric care service at Peshawar women’s hospital for patients referred from surrounding districts and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Teams also run an outpatient therapeutic feeding program through a network of mobile clinics and outreach sites.

In Timergara, around 200 kilometres north of Peshawar, MSF supports the district headquarters hospital’s emergency department and also provides comprehensive emergency obstetric care.