DOH ready to send medical team to Pakistan

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday it is prepared to send a medical team to Pakistan to help the victims of the massive flooding there.

But Dr. Carmencita Banatin, director of the DOH’s Health Emergency Management Services, said following protocol, they will only be able to dispatch the team when Pakistan asks for it.

“It is easy to organize because we have the experts. But we cannot do that on our own and so far, we have not received a request yet,” Banatin said in an interview.

She said it is easier to dispatch a medical team to a country where visa is not required.

Banatin said the DOH has sent medical teams to Haiti, Sri Lanka and Indonesia when these were hit by natural calamities.

A medical team is usually composed of doctors, nurses, sanitary engineers, epidemiologists and psycho-social experts, depending on the needs of the place where they will be sent.

“Sometimes, there are countries affected by calamities which do not ask for international support, like China when it was hit by an earthquake. So we have to wait for their request first,” she said.