Pakistan Earthquake

On October 8, 2005, an earthquake registering 7.6 on the Richter scale struck northwestern Pakistan. More than 70,000 people were killed, an estimated 100,000 were injured and more than 3 million were left homeless in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the North West Frontier Province. Those in need faced both an immediate health crisis and the onset of a harsh winter.

Five Stages of Emergency Response for 2005 Pakistan Earthquake

1) Immediate Airlift: Medical Disaster Module
Within 72 hours of the earthquake, a plane carrying 30,000 pounds and $1 million of relief supplies — oral hydration salts, IV solutions, antibiotics and other medicines — left AmeriCares Amsterdam warehouse for Islamabad. These supplies constituted AmeriCares pre-planned disaster modules designed for the first days following a calamity. A team of AmeriCares emergency response staff accompanied the airlift to Islamabad and distributed the contents to first responders with our partner Islamic Relief.

2) Targeted Relief Supplies: A Second Airlift and Winterized Tents
AmeriCares relief team assessed the needs of hospitals and clinics and made plans for a second airlift carrying 110,000 pounds of medical assistance valued at more than $7 million; that shipment arrived in Pakistan on October 26. A resource gap assessment revealed insufficient supplies of shelter so, with winter rapidly approaching, AmeriCares purchased and delivered 1,200 winterized family tents to provide refuge for 4,000 to 6,000 people.

3) Health Infrastructure Rehabilitation: Field Hospital for Allai Valley
In the remote Allai Valley near the town of Bana, the earthquake had destroyed the area's sole clinic, leaving residents without access to health care. To bridge the gap between recovery and reconstruction, AmeriCares arranged the delivery of a field hospital, which first traveled to Karachi, then on to Islamabad and then delivered by helicopter to Bana.  AmeriCares provided the delivery, construction and equipment for the field hospital. This fully equipped, temporary facility houses an operating room, an emergency ward, a gynecology/labor ward, a laboratory, a radiology unit and a 15-bed patient ward. AmeriCares partnered with Save the Children to operate the hospital, whose staff continues to run the facility today. Over the past two years, the climate-controlled field hospital has withstood harsh weather and provided a clean, safe environment for patients. It serves a population of 150,000 people and has sheltered more than 350 safe births.

4) Pharmaceutical Resources Bridge Gaps: Vaccine Airlift
In December, the World Health Organization made an urgent request for a vaccine that would protect children at risk for meningitis and other infectious diseases in the earthquake-affected areas. Long-time AmeriCares donor Wyeth Pharmaceuticals generously donated their Haemophilus b conjugate  (Diphtheria CRM197 Protein Conjugate), valued at $28 million,®vaccine, HibTITER for relief efforts. On behalf of the Ministry of Health, AmeriCares undertook the logistics challenges of maintaining "cold chain" — which means ensuring the medicines stay at an uninterrupted temperature of between 36º F and 46º F throughout their transportation and distribution. Arriving safely in Islamabad, 1 million doses of the vaccine were administered through UNICEF clinics.

5) Post-Emergency Reconstruction: Rebuilding Rural Health Infrastructure
In June 2006, AmeriCares made a $3.4 million commitment with the World Health Organization to rebuild 20 rural health centers in northern Pakistan, where more than 60% of the primary care facilities were damaged or destroyed. AmeriCares funded the structures and outfitted each one with essential medicines and an ambulance before transferring management to the Pakistan Ministry of Health. With construction of all 20 rural health centers completed in March 2007, an estimated 1 million people now have access to the quality medical services. Each center serves a population between 50,000 and 100,000. AmeriCares continues to monitor the needs of the clinics and in the spring of 2008 plans to deliver five X-ray machines.