WHAT IS GWHI?
Girls and Women Health Initiative (GWHI), a non- governmental and non-profit organization, is a health & well being initiative for girls and women of all ages.
Our programs encompass all areas related to general health and gynaecological ailments.
At GWHI , we believe that a healthy and prosperous nation respects all privileges of women including their rights to life, liberty, security, equality, free from all forms of discrimination, freedom of thought, information and education and their right to be free from torture and ill treatment of all kinds.
GWHI Flood Appeal
As you know the floods have wreaked havoc in the country, killing 2000 and displacing 20 million individuals to date. 1/5 of the country is submerged underwater and 3.5 million children are at high risk of deadly waterborne diseases. Relief operations have yet to reach an estimated 6 million people. The affected have no roof over their heads, their belongings have been swept away and there is an acute shortage of food and medicines.
GWHI FLOOD RELIEF AID AND MEDICAL CAMP , Sultan Chowk
To all of those who contributed in time , kind or money !
Thank you for the generous help for the flood relief and Allah SWT will inshAllah bless you for this.
The medicines were donated largely by AL RAZI HEALTHCARE and by a donation arranged by 4thyear SIMS medical students
We went to Sultan Colony , an area nearly 28 kms away from Muzaffargarh and has the main army flood relief camp. We had by the grace of Allah Almighty, stuff worth nearly 1.8 million rupees, including 125 tents , 350 food hampers [enough for a week for a family of 8], medicines worth nearly 6 lacs ,600 ladies’ dresses , 400 men’s clothes and 500 kids’ apparel, toys ,shoes and household items .
For the supplies I am eternally grateful to my family, friends and most importantly my patients who responded to the call immediateky and genrously .We raised a total of 1.8 million in less than a week !!!!
A big thank you to all of you, Mrs Nina Akber,The Pirachas, Mr Khalid Shams,The Shiekhs, Ayesha, Mr Khan , Mehwish, Sadia Shoaib, Col Naeemullah , Mohsin Bhai, Arooj Ahmed,Mr Yunus Ratra, Huma Shehzad, Hina Rana, Prof Awaisi,Ali Babar, Bushra Salamat,Tina Aqil, Sania AbuBakr, Master Abu Bakr, Mrs Farooq,Tehmina Raja , Tehmina Frooq, Huma, Dr Iffat , Farah Khalid, Irfan Cheema, Hamood Dhillon, Zain-ul Abideen, Ajmal Khan, Farzeen Waseem, Lubna, Salman , Raja and many more
Our team consisted of doctors, medical students and volunteers [inclusive ofMr Khalid Shams,Dr Zakir, Usman Zakir , Dr Hamayun, Zeeshan , Atif , Zain, my children Abdullah , Saadullah and Zafarullah and Faisal and Usama from AlRazi]. We left Lahore at around midnight on 21 and arrived at the camp at 8 am .We had the army escort , from Multan onwards.
There were 1176 families in the camp, with an average family size of 8 to 9. All totally destitute, having nothing but the make shift army tents .The army has been supplying twice daily meals and emergency medical care too.The role of Pakistan army in this great tragedy has beeen amazing!
Through the day we saw over 900 patients of which 400 were women .All women and children were in a terrible state, dehydrated and underweight. Loads of skin infection, diarrhea, and fever and eye problems .All were given a complete course of good quality medication that we had.
The camp in charge Major Nauman told me today that 125 families have gone back to their villages with the tents and food hampers provided by us.
We are planning to go again inshAllah on 4th September and they need us to bring medicines, clothes and most importantly tents; as the people need to and do want to go back to their own houses; which sadly do not exist anymore. Those people might live in these tents for an average of 18 to 24 months.
I would again request you to help us in this noble cause and would also request you to use to use your and your family’s contacts and influence to help us continue and expand this effort. May be you can ask friends and colleagues to plunge in too.
This is a call for you to help and donate as much as you can. We require financial (please refer to the 'Contact Us' section for bank account details) as well as material donations of goods which are desperately needed by our brothers and sisters. This difficult time is a test of our unity and strength.
Please join us in getting the supplies moving. Spare every single rupee that you can and look through your closets - your used garments and spare clothes could mean a lot to those who have nothing at all.
DR Noreen Zafar
Here follows a list of the items the flood victims require urgently and in abundance:
ESSENTIAL ITEMS LIST
Immediate priorities for survivors are TENTS , clean drinking water, food and medical assistance. Here is a list of items you can provide if you are in Pakistan. Please do not donate old/expired stuff. Make sure edible items are hygienic and properly packed.
Clothing: Clothes of various sizes, Beddings, Shoes
> *Matchsticks
> * Utensils: Jerricans (large plastic cans that hold 20 liters of water or other liquids),
> * Crockery, Buckets
> * Toiletries: Tissues, Soaps, Dettol (antibacterial cleaners), Towels
> * Dried milk for children and families
> * High nutrition biscuits
> * Dates
> * Food packets (tea, sugar, milk powder, vegetable oil, pulses, spices)
> * Mineral water
> * Water coolers
> * Cooking utensils
> * Footware for children
> * Mosquito nets
> * Blankets
> * Bedspreads
> * Floor matresses
> * Soap
> * Hand towels
> * Tooth paste
> * Female sanitary pads
> * Diapers
> * Washing power and soap
> * ORS
> * Mosquito repellents
> * Prickly heat powder
> * Children anti-rash creams
> * Water purification tablets
> * Candles and match boxes
> * Flashlights, Lanterns and Generators (5 kVA and above)
MEDICINES
> 1. Water purification tablets.
> 2. Life saving drugs, medicines for scabies
> 3. Vaccines
> 4. Pain killers including strong ones like morphine derivatives, tremadol, pethadine, kinz, panadol, brufen, voren, synflex
> 5. Antibiotics e.g. amoxil, gentamycin.
> 6. IV cannulas- most common are 18, 22, 24 - Butterfly cannulas: [for children]
> 7. IV Drip sets
> 8. IV drips: normal saline, ringerlactate, haemacelle
> 9. Local anesthetics (injections)
> 10. Cotton bandages, cotton.
> 11. Surgical instruments: e.g needle holders, forceps, tweezers, surgical tapes
> 12. Suturing materials, Skin staples, absorbing and non-absorbing: catgut sutures, vicryl, proline
> 13. Bandages: crepe
> 14. Guaze pads
> 15. Saniplasts
> 16. Folleys catheter and urine bags
> 17. Cotton
> 18. Surgical blades
> 19. Iv pain killers: diclofenac
> 20. Pyodene solutions
> 21. Cough syrups
> 22. Sedatives: xanax, sossegon
> 23. Antibiotics: again oral, IV and topical: most common are augmentin, ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, zinacef,clafron, penicillin G, ampliclox, oral or IV flagyl syrup, cefspan
> 24. Vaccines: inj TT/ inj ATS
Please email gwhi.staff@gmail.com
noreen_zf@hotmail.com
or ring 03008460202 Dr Noreen Zafar
03218874562 Mohammad Abdullah Zafar
03214821056 Zain ul Abideen Sohail
03068460202 Mohammad Saadullah Khan
03074317145 Mohammad Zafarullah Khan
MOTHER'S DAY ------- A TWO SIDED PICTURE !
FOOD FOR THOUGHT -------
We join in celebrating Mother's Day in loving and honouring mothers around us but there is another side of the story too ! We must not forget millions of mothers across the globe and in Pakistan, who loose their lives due to complications related to pregnancy , childbirth or misscarriage.The greatest tragedy is that these women are not dying because the medical science and profession do not have the treatments for their illnesses ------These mothers contiue to die, as the world as a whole , nations, countries ,international agencies , policy makers , planners and financial gurus have just not given the life of a woman , the prioirty it deserves.The loss of a mother is not the loss of an indiviual life .Maternal death is one of the greatest human tragedies .The death of a mother initiates a cascade of ongoing disasters for the whole household and less than half of the children who loose their mothers at birth ever see their 1st birthday ------
Anemia , excessive bleeding , uncontrolled blood pressure and delay in seeking proper medical help are the most important reasons responsible for the deaths of women everyday , across the world and in Pakistan.Our camp data shows that around 80 % of our girls and women suffer from significant anemia .GWHI runs 'GO PINK !' a campaign to eradicate anemia .Please join us to make a real difference.Please help us in fighting these illnesses which are easily treatable .
SPREADING THE WORD ABOUT WELLNESS FOR GIRLS AND WOMEN
GWHI conducts many lectures, seminars and interactive sessions at various Universities and Colleges and Sukh Chan Club . These free of cost lectures are conducted by Dr Noreen Zafar herself and include variety of topics including gynecological problems ,weight issues, period problems, problems with concieving, risk of female cancer, breast cancer etc. Sometimes a prestigious guest accompanies the President for the lectures, for instance just recently the Australian breast cancer expert Beth Trevan joined the GWHI team and shared her valuable insight with a lot of women and girls.
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