MERCY Malaysia Donates RM800,000 worth of Medical Equipment to Japan

1 June 2011 –  MERCY Malaysia is channelling part of its Japan Earthquake Relief Fund to purchase medical equipments worth over RM800,000 to be donated to the Minamisanriku Medical Clinic and Shizugawa Hospital. The new ward of the Shizugawa Hospital is reopening today and it has been equipped by the donated items through MERCY Malaysia.

“Both centres are located within the Miyagi Prefecture in Japan, and the Shizugawa Hospital was destroyed by the Tsunami. Before the reopening, the physicians, nurses and other staff of the Shizugawa Hospital were operating the temporary medical clinic – the Minamisanriku Medical Clinic- since 15 May”, said MERCY Malaysia President, Dato’ Dr. Ahmad Faizal Mohd Perdaus.

“Our services are always driven by local needs, and through our recent assessment we found that we could help the medical centre in this way. We have transferred JPY21,532,875 to the authorities for the purchase of the following medical equipments; electric beds, traction devices, stretchers, mattresses, bedside tables and bedside rails amongst others”, he said, adding that all items were purchased locally to stimulate the local economy and reduce logistical costs.

“The generous support from the Malaysian people through MERCY Malaysia has enabled us to reopen the hospital today, and we appreciate all the assistance given thus far. Our recovery efforts have been accelerated, but it still takes time and much support to rebuild all the damaged medical facilities and to provide the medical care and treatment to the people living in the affected area”, said Dr. Naruo Uehara, a Professor of International Health (Quality & Health System) from Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine who is currently working under the Tsunami Medical Support Unit at the prefecture.

“We are now focusing on rebuilding the small clinics for the people who are living far from the major hospitals. The support from the government have not reached to all the facilities, thus the assistance from Malaysia as well as others are highly appreciated”, said Dr. Naruo Uehara, adding that major hospitals that was destroyed have since started functioning again.

Dato’ Dr. Ahmad Faizal assures that MERCY Malaysia will continue to explore other possibilities of supporting the recovery of Japan, including the disaster preparedness and risk reduction aspects, with potential local partners such as universities, local governments and national NGOs.

Concerned individuals and organisations can donate to the Japan EarthquakeRelief 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(please indicate at the back of the cheque - Japan Earthquake Relief Fund).

To donate online, please visit www.mercy.org.my and inform us via email that you wish to donate to the Japan Earthquake Relief Fund.

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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.

 

For further information, kindly contact:

Juanita Johari, General Manager, Communications and Fundraising, MERCY Malaysia

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

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

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