11 August 2010 - MERCY Malaysia is launching the Pakistan Relief Fund in response to the Pakistan floods that have devastated millions of lives in the past two weeks.

"The tragic flooding in Pakistan threatens the health and well-being of millions," said MERCY Malaysia President, Dato' Dr Ahmad Faizal Perdaus. "With the Pakistan Relief Fund, it will help us in providing support and assistance towards the rebuilding of the health care services in areas that were badly-affected by the floods."

"Apart from providing humanitarian and medical aid to the flood victims now, we hope to continue assisting the affected communities after the floods subside, especially in the phases of recovery and rehabilitation," said Dato' Dr Ahmad Faizal.

On another note, the MERCY Malaysia team in Pakistan is actively involved on the ground since they arrived on 4 August. According to MERCY Malaysia Head of Relief Operations, Mr Hew Cheong Yew, two static clinics have been established in Nowshera and Charsadda districts to cater for over 3,000 people displaced by the flood, and the number may increase over time. The clinics – comprises a minimum of 1 local doctor and 3 medical staff each – were set up with the collaboration of the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA).

"Another MERCY Malaysia team will be deployed to Pakistan on 12 August (Thursday) to continue supporting at the clinics, and to promote and supply hygiene kits to the flood victims as they are susceptible to water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea," said Dato Dr Ahmad Faizal, adding that the team consists of MERCY Malaysia Programme Officer Mr Saw Yu Shen, accompanied by one MERCY Malaysia's volunteer, Dr Jitendra Kumar Shantilal N Tejani.

"As there is a shortage of clean water in the flood-affected area, hygiene promotion is very important to educate the communities and individuals so that they are aware of the links between hygiene practices, poor sanitation, polluted water sources and diseases," said Dato' Dr Faizal.

"We have allocated a budget for 1,000 hygiene kits to be distributed to affected communities through appointed local organisations, and will conduct sessions to address the hygiene needs of the flood survivors," he added.

Concerned individuals and organisations can donate to the Pakistan Relief Fund through the following bank accounts:

MAYBANK (account name: MERCY HUMANITARIAN FUND, account number : 5621-7950-4126, ABA Swift Code: MBBEMYKLA), or

CIMB Bank (account name: MERCY Malaysia, account number: 1424-000-6561053, ABA Swift Code: CIBBMYKL).

Donations via cheque are payable to MERCY MALAYSIA.

To donate online, please visit www.mercy.org.my.

About MERCY Malaysia

MERCY Malaysia is a non‐profit organisation focusing on providing medical relief, sustainable health-related development and risk reduction activities for vulnerable communities in both crisis and non-crisis situations. MERCY Malaysia recognises the value of working with partners and volunteers as well as providing opportunities for individuals to serve with professionalism. We uphold the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief and hold ourselves accountable to our donors and beneficiaries. As a non‐profit organisation, MERCY Malaysia relies solely on funding and donations from organisations and generous individuals to continue our services to provide humanitarian assistance to our beneficiaries.

Important Note to Media: Usage of Wordmark MERCY Malaysia

In order to avoid confusion with other organisation(s) that uses "Mercy" as the organisation's name or part of the organisation's name, please take note that in addressing the name of our organisation, the wordmark for MERCY Malaysia is with capitalised "MERCY", followed by the word "Malaysia". When describing the organisation, the term "MERCY Malaysia" must always be used in full, and should not be partially referred to as "MERCY", or "Mercy". Thank you for your cooperation.

For further information, kindly contact:

Mas Elati Samani, Head of Communications and Strategic Engagement, MERCY Malaysia

Level 2, Podium Block, City Point, Kompleks Dayabumi, Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, 50050 KL.

T: 6-03-2273 3999, F: 6-03-2272 3812, E: mas@mercy.org.my W: www.mercy.org.my

Source: ReliefWeb