Pakistan

Areas of stagnant water were a major contributor to the rise in the number of people with water- and vector-borne diseases. In October, our water and sanitation teams installed a water filtration plant with a capacity of 270,000 liters per day, in Jaffarabad district. The clean drinking water was delivered by trucks to flood-affected villages and displacement camps in eastern Balochistan and in Dadu, Sindh, helping to mitigate the risk of waterborne disease caused by contaminated water. 

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, MSF installed water filtration systems, and cleaned and decontaminated 800 wells in flood-affected villages in Charsadda district.

MSF also conducted outpatient general health care consultations in the province in the early stage of the emergency, and distributed essential items, such as hygiene and cooking kits, to thousands of families in Charsadda and Nowshera, and in DI Khan district. 

Overall, our teams in Balochistan, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provided millions of liters of clean drinking water, and distributed tens of thousands of relief packages to people affected by the floods, including tents, cooking kits, hygiene items, and mosquito nets.

Regular activities 

Despite some interruption caused by the flooding, we managed to maintain most of our activities throughout the year, including our reproductive, neonatal, and pediatric care services at five different locations in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. 

We strengthened our support to DHQ hospital in Dera Murad Jamali, Balochistan, by sending additional medical and non-medical experts, and increasing bed capacity from 40 to 69 to address increased needs linked to the floods. 

In addition, we assisted local communities, Afghan refugees, and people in border areas by running emergency obstetric services and nutrition programs, and ensuring the management and referral of critical trauma patients. We also continued to operate our cutaneous leishmaniasis program in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, and started a project to address cutaneous leishmaniasis in Dadu, Sindh province. 

In Karachi, Sindh province, we continued to run a hepatitis C project in the informal settlement of Machar Colony and support COVID-19 vaccination activities, focusing particularly on undocumented people. 

In Gujranwala, Punjab province, we diagnosed and treated people with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, implementing a decentralized approach that enabled patients to receive care nearer to their homes. 

In November, we ran training sessions for key female medical officers, health workers, and community midwives from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on the correct use of oxytocin and other labor-inducing drugs. 

At the end of 2022, after 11 years, MSF’s comprehensive emergency obstetric and neonatal care hospital in Peshawar closed. The project was opened to address the needs of neglected communities in the area, such as Afghan refugees and internally displaced people, and provided free-of-charge care. During the lifespan of the project, we assisted over 54,400 deliveries.