Islamabad: Following ongoing monsoon rains, which have directly killed around 220 people and displaced many, Pakistani health experts and the World Health Organization (WHO) are warning of a looming public health crisis in the form of vector- and water-borne diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, malaria, cholera, and diarrhea in Pakistan.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a stark warning over a looming public health crisis in Pakistan, as deadly monsoon rains and flash floods batter the country, killing at least 220 people, injuring nearly 500, and affecting over 16 million across Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan.
In its first situation report on the 2025 monsoon emergency, WHO has flagged a high risk of outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, hepatitis A and E, and vector-borne illnesses including dengue and malaria due to contaminated water sources and widespread stagnation.
Amid mounting health threats and the risk of system collapse in affected areas, prominent epidemiologist and former Director General Health Dr. Rana Muhammad Safdar has lashed out at the government’s lack of visibility and planning.
“It is painful to see WHO issuing alerts instead of our own health institutions. The silence from NIH and NDMA—who were quick to create NEOCs during COVID—is shocking. We had ample advance warning about this monsoon, yet no meaningful preparedness is visible,” Dr. Safdar told The News.
WHO’s situation update, based on reports up to July 17, paints a grim picture: 678 homes have collapsed, road access to health facilities remains cut off in many regions, and no medical relief camps have been activated in Punjab, Sindh or KP despite rising demand for emergency care.
The report warns that displaced populations, particularly women, children, and the elderly, face heightened mental health risks, and that electricity outages threaten cold chain systems for vaccines and essential drugs.
Dr. Safdar emphasized that Pakistan should have had a three-phase response strategy: pre-flood mapping and resource placement, real-time surveillance and emergency health services during rains, and post-flood vector control and disease prevention.
“With all four dengue serotypes circulating, the risk of severe dengue is very real. Our failure to deploy Rapid Response Teams and prepare for disease surveillance could lead to avoidable deaths,” he said, urging immediate activation of emergency systems.
Despite WHO and health partners prepositioning over 300,000 medical supplies across four provinces, no patients have yet been treated in camps and no operational medical tents are reported. Experts fear the window for prevention is closing fast.
Adding to the concerns, Prof. Javed Akram, renowned physician and former caretaker health minister of Punjab, warned that Pakistan is heading toward a major dengue and vector-borne disease epidemic. “Following recent rains, weather conditions are becoming ideal for mosquito breeding. The shift from summer to monsoon has created the perfect environment,” he said.
Prof. Akram, who also serves as President of the Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine (PSIM), stressed that dengue cannot be eradicated as it exists in 139 countries, including advanced nations like Malaysia and Singapore.
“But we can contain it. This requires year-round awareness, biological control methods instead of harmful chemicals, and preventing accumulation of rainwater,” he added.
He emphasized that people should not die of dengue. “It causes disease and misery, but lives can be saved. We must focus on building the capacity of healthcare workers, training them not to overdose patients with fluids, and establishing High Dependency Units (HDUs) in affected areas. And no one should rely on traditional totkas for treatment,” he warned.
With over 8 million people in high-vulnerability zones and the peak of monsoon season still ahead, Pakistan faces a ticking health time bomb.
The absence of coordinated government leadership at this stage, Prof. Javed Akram and Dr. Safdar warn, could turn a natural disaster into a full-blown public health catastrophe.
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