‘Children suffering from post earthquake trauma’
By Hina Kiyani

ISLAMABAD—Following the major devastation caused by the October 8, earthquake, majority of the children affected by it are not only suffering from physical injuries but also mental trauma. This was stated by internationally renowned Professor Leonid Roshal, Executive Director and Chief Moscow Children’s Clinical and Research Institute of Emergency Surgery and Trauma, who is in Islamabad as a volunteer to help the earthquake victims.
Dr. Roshal was briefing the media at the Russian Embassy on his experiences while treating the children injured during the earthquake and admitted at various hospitals in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
He was of the view that children need special care and most of them will require help from specialists like neurosurgeons, dermatologists, plastic surgeons and psychologists. He recommended that all the children need to be put in one location, to centralize the physical and mental rehabilitation programme. A number of children will require surgery, amputation of limbs and installation of artificial limbs. “The physical handicap and mental shock is likely to leave deep mental scars and to bring them out of the trauma and function normally, the children require urgent attention of qualified psychologists,” the octogenarian veteran of international calamities and earthquake relief operations opined.
Dr. Roshal, who has the titles of “National Hero of Russia” and “Children’s doctor of the World” spent a hectic week in Islamabad performing surgery on serious children’s cases and was all praise for the dedication of Pakistani doctors and surgeons. Earlier, H.E. Mr. Sergey Peskov, Ambassador of Russian federation, prior to introducing the legendary surgeon, briefed the media on Russian relief for Pakistan’s earthquake victims.
He informed that in response to Pakistan’s request for international assistance to overcome the country’s worst earthquake, the Russian Federation is sending relief for the Pakistani people. First relief flight from Moscow landed at the PAF Airbase Chaklala on October 9 and brought 35 rescuers and two doctors with four specially trained sniffing dogs, four specialized rescue vehicles and a lot of up-dated rescue equipment. This team was deployed in Muzaffarabad till October 15 and participated in rescue operations in different areas of the city and its outskirts together with other international rescue groups.
The second relief flight arrived on 10th of this month with 31 tons of humanitarian aid on board: 110 winter reinforced tents, each accommodating 10 to 30 persons, 304 quilts, 250 mattresses, 253 pillows and 400 camp beds. The third relief flight of the Russian Federation arrived on October 11 and brought 53 specialists including 37 rescuers, 16 doctors and medical staff (included surgeons, anesthesiologists, pediatricians and paramedics).
A fully equipped Mobile 50-bed Field Hospital with operation theatre to provide immediate health care at the spot to the earth quake victims was airlifted from Moscow by the same flight. It was also stationed inMuzaffarabad. Starting from the October 11, the Russian doctors provided medical assistance for almost 1000 people and performed 356 complicated surgeries for the affectees in field condition. The Mobile Hospital with all its medical personnel will stay in Muzaffarabad for some time more. On October 13 a 7-member medical team of pediatricians, surgeons, neurosurgeons and crush-syndrome specialists headed by world famous Russian Professor Leonid Roshal arrived at Islamabad and started surgeries and treatment patients at the PIMS children hospital.