The Kosi Flood was one of the most disastrous floods in the history of Bihar, an impoverished and densely populated state in India. A breach in the Kosi embankment near the Indo-Nepal border (at Kusaha VDC, Sunsari district, Nepal) occurred on 18 August 2008. The river changed course and inundated areas which hadn't experienced floods in many decades. The flood affected over 2.3 million people in the northern part of Bihar.
What is DFY Did
DFY launched a massive medical relief, rescue & rehabilitation operation with infrastructural support from the Indian Railways and in association with other NGOs such as Youth for Equality (YFE) and Mercy Malaysia. We compartmentalize our response in two phases; first phase focussed on emergency relief operation, and the second phase saw us engaging in rehabilitation of existing health system.
- Mobile Health Camp: we organized 300 mobile health camps over a period of 6-months where more than 1.3 lakh patients were treated.
- Mobilization of resources: we mobilized for food, clothes, medicines, waterproof tents, cooking utensils & water purification plants through systematic awareness and information campaigns all over the country.
- Established Biratpur Maternal and Child Health Centre: In collaboration with Mercy Malaysia and SEEDS, we established a health centre in Bihar on 5th March, 2009, managed by 2 doctors and 11 support staff. In one year, we have registered > 950 pregnant women (antenatal care registration) and treated > 30,000 patients. The centre is still running, and conducts periodic health education fairs for women and special geriatric OPDs once a week.