LAHORE: As relief efforts continue across Punjab’s flood-affected districts, residents are now facing growing risks of disease outbreaks caused by stagnant water, overcrowded camps, and shortages of medical supplies.
Reports from Narowal, Hafizabad, and Kasur highlight overwhelmed health units and a lack of essential medicines. Aid workers say patients with diarrhoea, skin infections, and dengue often wait hours for treatment. Supplies of anti-malaria drugs and rabies vaccine have already run out in some camps. “We are treating dozens of patients in tents without enough supplies. Official tallies don’t match the situation here,” said one health worker in Narowal.
Since late August, floods have displaced more than two million people, submerged 2,000 villages, and destroyed thousands of acres of rice, cotton, and sugarcane crops. While the provincial government has rescued 1.9 million people, set up over 1,000 relief camps, and deployed mobile health units, residents in cut-off areas say help remains inconsistent.
Health records show over 15,400 cases of dengue, malaria, diarrhoea, and skin diseases in the past month, including 310 dengue cases this year. Authorities have also reported 99 snakebites and 167 dogbite cases. The World Health Organisation has warned of “grave risks” of epidemics if clean water and medicines are not provided urgently.
Provincial Minister Khawaja Imran Nazir said medical teams and Clinics-on-Wheels are active across districts, and all authorities have been instructed to stock emergency medicines. He added that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz is personally supervising operations, supported by army units. Officials say mosquito spraying, disinfection drives, and clean water distribution are underway in camps.
Critics, however, argue that the response has been reactive rather than preventive, pointing to weak flood defences and underprepared health systems. Experts also warn that climate change is amplifying risks, with Punjab receiving 26 percent more rainfall this monsoon compared to last year.
Authorities confirmed that water containers and bottled water from filtration plants are being delivered by boat to flood victims in Gujrat, Hafizabad, Jhang, Sargodha, Kasur, and Rajanpur. Relief teams have been instructed to continue anti-dengue measures and maintain sanitation in camps to prevent further outbreaks.
