Emirates Red Crescent airlifts 30 tons of medical supplies to Erbil

Abu Dhabi, 3rd February 2015 (WAM) - An Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) aid plane loaded with 35 tons of medicines and medical supplies landed yesterday at the Erbil airport as part of the UAE's Compassion Campaign to help the people of Kurdistan region in Iraq survive the cold wave. Humaid Al Shamsi, Deputy Secretary-General of the ERC for International Aid, said the latest consignment of assistance would support the abilities of the health centres and clinics to provide basic healthcare services to the Iraqi internally displaced persons (IDPs) and Syrian refugees, particularly women and children. ''The ERC will pursue its relief programmes to alleviate their suffering and improve their living conditions,'' he added. The urgent medical assistance was sent in response to a recommendation made by a high-level relief team, led by the ERC Secretary General Dr. Mohammed Ateeq Al Falahi, which had visited the Kurdistan region. He added that the deteriorating health situation and suffering in camps in Kurdistan, which host 1.8 million IDPs and refugees, had prompted the ERC to scale up its relief operations in north Iraq. – Emirates News Agency, WAM – http://www.wam.ae/en/news/emirates/1395275944815.html