Pakistan catastrophe is worst in 100 years
An anesthesiologist from Clínica Universidad de Navarra is the coordinator doctor of a ten-person health team sent to the Asian country by AECID.
Dr. Alberto Lafuente Jiménez, clinical professor at School of Medicine at the University of Navarra, describes the disaster caused by the floods in Pakistan in recent weeks as "the worst humanitarian catastrophe in the last hundred years". More than 1,500 deaths, between six and eight million people without housing, seven million in urgent need of financial aid and a total of 20 million people affected are the chilling figures of the natural disaster in the Asian country.
Diarrhea, very serious cases of dehydration, outbreaks of cholera, diphtheria, countless emergency cesarean sections, pediatric pathology and various types of infections are the most frequent diseases that the anesthesiologist of the Clínica Universidad de Navarra and the ten-person medical team he coordinates are treating in Pakistan. Alberto Lafuente has gone to the disaster area as manager doctor of the medical contingent sent by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for the development (AECID).
Expert in financial aid in emergencies
The team of Spanish volunteers landed last Saturday in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, where they were informed about the country's general status , the most urgent health needs and the hospital where they were going to be assigned. At the beginning of next week they plan to return to Spain.
Dr. Alberto Lafuente is an expert at financial aid in emergencies. This is the sixth international catastrophe in which he has volunteered his financial aid . The previous ones were last January's earthquake in Haiti, the war disaster in Afghanistan, as well as those caused by the earthquakes in Pakistan (October 2005) and the two earthquakes in Indonesia (June 2006 and September 2009). His background of financial aid in emergencies is completed with his specialization program medical degree in Anesthesia and a Master's Degree in Emergency Systems Management.
- More information and interview with Alberto Lafuente