Mercy Malaysia To Initiate Humanitarian Projects In Pakistan

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 22 (Bernama) -- Malaysian Medical Relief Society (Mercy Malaysia) in support of the Malaysian government has set to initiate humanitarian projects in Pakistan to alleviate the province's dire situation after it was hit by severe flooding in Aug last year. Heavy monsoon rain on Sindh and the northern parts of Punjab had affected the livehood of 9.27 million people who rely heavily on agricultural produce. MERCY Malaysia president Ahmad Faizal Mohd Perdaus in a statement Tuesday said with the USD1 million (RM3.2 million) generous contribution from the Malaysian government, MERCY Malaysia were able to respond to the disaster with more impetus and to greater effect. "MERCY Malaysia is genuinely heartened by the support of the Malaysian government. Our assessment team found that there are still health related concerns six months after the flooding in Pakistan with the hygiene and sanitation situation very worrying," he said. Ahmad Faizal added that the people of Sindh in Pakistan were having difficulty in accessing health facilities and there were also infrastructure damage to hospitals and health centres. "With long term focus on reducing the mortality and morbidity rate of the affected community, we are seeking to address the basic water, sanitation and hygiene (wash) needs by installing latrines, hand-pumps and water filtration systems," he said. He added MERCY Malaysia also aimed to increase communal access to primary health services, especially in the remote areas, through mobile and static clinics. MERCY Malaysia Senior Programme Officer Mohammad Said Alhudzari was Tuesday deployed to oversee the execution of the projects in it's initial stages. The public can donate through Mercy's Maybank account, 'Mercy Humanitarian Fund’ account number 5621-7950-4126, or through the CIMB Bank account 'Mercy Malaysia' account number 1424-000-6561053. For more information or online donations, the public can visit www.mercy.org.my. --BERNAMA