Clock is ticking for those lying under open sky

Snow-clad mountains in the country's northern areas were once the icon of natural beauty, but this winter - they are sending a chilly warning message to the quake-stricken people who are living homeless next to their caved-in houses.
The cold weather has added extra urgency to efforts by aid agencies to get tents and food to the survivors of the October 8 earthquake in Azad Kashmir and the NWFP, that killed an estimated 87,000 people and left some 3.5 million without a roof over their heads.
It is only the beginning of winter, but subfreezing temperatures and snowfall in Kashmir have claimed eight lives.
According to the United Nations, another "death wave" could strike the survivors if the relief and rehabilitation efforts do not gear up.
There are several perils involved with the upcoming winter, which may play havoc with the people in quake-affected areas. Shelter is the main necessity for these people, as it could be quite hard to survive when the mercury drops below the freezing point. Tents are the primary need to save these people. Stoves and corrugated iron sheeting are among the other urgently needed items, as many tents are not winterized. About 500,000 tents have so far been pitched in, but the need is for winterized tents to ward off the bitter cold. These tents are in short supply. China has provided 13,000 winterized tents and the United States 10,000 and some more have to come from other countries. This deficiency has to be plugged quickly, especially in the upper regions of the affected areas," says Relief Commissioner Major General Farooq Ahmad Khan.
The harshness of winter is always a splendor while sitting in a cozy room, beside a fireplace. Normally, the onset of winter stir the kids to joyfully sing their nursery rhyme "Here we go round the mulberry bush, in a cold and frosty morning", - but this time the winter is not the same for the children in the AJK and NWFP. Hundreds of them are being exposed to pneumonia after the bitter Himalayan winter swept into quake-ravaged areas.
Pneumonia and other cold-related diseases are fairly common in winter, but this year the number of patients specially children suffering from such diseases has swelled to hundreds as compared to previous years," according to Sardar Mahmood Ahmad Khan, District Health Officer in the quake-hit Muzaffarabad. ‘
The people in affected areas are at risk to hypothermia (abnormally low body temperature) and the doctors in makeshift hospitals are stressing for huge amounts of medicine required for the treatment of pneumonia, flu and fever.
It would be important to evolve a consensus in the medical community on the efficacy of preventive vaccines. In many cases, pneumonia can occur as a complication of some other diseases like measles or haemophilus influenza for which preventive vaccines can prove helpful, especially for those who have not been inoculated against childhood diseases. The efforts by the government, non-governmental organizations and military continue to save the affected population from the winter as the troops and aid workers are building shelters as fast as they can.
The treatment of the injured is a gigantic task and of course requires huge funds. According to a report by an independent group, so far, 218,715 persons have received medical attention. The figure for those hospitalized is 86,059. Doctors have performed 19,045 surgeries, while there have been 665 amputations. The number of those that are still in hospitals for further treatment is 9,288.
The NATO's disaster relief team is also engaged in airlifting relief goods to the people living high in mountains.
But heavy rains and a fresh blanket of snow heralding the onset of the region's harsh winter, is making the task more challenging to cope with the situation.
Funds are urgently required to stop the winter show its 'killer face'. Time is waiting for early fulfillment of pledges made for the donations at international level. From tents to fibre-glass huts, blankets to warm clothes, and importantly the high-energy food to develop resistance in bodies to fight cold - everything needs financial resources to get purchased.
The situation, no doubt speaks for the urgent recovery of\ 5.8 billion dollars as pledged in the Donors' Conference held in Islamabad. The United Nations has also reminded the donors for an early realization of the pledged donations that it made through flash appeals. It has so far received 216 million dollars in emergency relief funds, which is only 39 percent of its appeal for 550 million dollars.
According to a UN official Elizabeth Byrs, "The race to provide suitable shelter in time is not lost yet, but the consequences resulting from a lack of funds could result in more deaths of vulnerable people; such as the elderly and infants."
Of the 500,000 tents that United Nations purchased and stockpiled for quake relief, about 165,000 have yet to be delivered, with weather conditions worsening each day," she said.
Donor fatigue after the tsunami in December 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in August this year may be related to the slowdown of fulfillment of pledges made at international fora, but, winter and nature are reminding to concentrate on saving lives on war footing and generate funds before the moments get more tough on the survivors.

—Shumaila Andleeb (APP)