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Kuala Lumpur, 3 October 2006 - MERCY Malaysia today announced its latest projects for the recovery and rebuilding of Lebanon that include a Mental Health Support Programme as well as the reconstruction of two health facilities.
“MERCY Malaysia is adopting a holistic approach in regards to the
rebuilding of Lebanon,” said Shareen Shariza Dato’ Abdul Ghani, Chief
Operating Officer of MERCY Malaysia. “This means that we are not only
focusing on the infrastructure of the country – we have also
incorporated plans to address the issue of mental health amongst the
victims of this terrible war, as we believe that psychosocial
programmes are not only a critical response to human suffering but are
part of an integrated plan for medical care.”
MERCY Malaysia’s Mental Health Support Programme will be carried out in
the affected areas of South Lebanon and South Beirut costing a total of
USD51,000. “Most people would agree that this conflict has mental as
well as physical consequences,” added Shareen. “Therefore, we will
train four key English-speaking Lebanese trainers on mental health
support here in Kuala Lumpur, who will subsequently return to their
societies to train between 30 and 40 trainers in Arabic. In turn, these
trainers will implement the programme amongst the public at large while
being facilitated by MERCY Malaysia’s Mental Health Support team on the
ground.
Apart from MERCY Malaysia’s Mental Health Support Programme, MERCY
Malaysia is proposing to repair and equip two possible health
facilities, namely the Salah Ghandour Hospital in Bin Jabeil, South
Lebanon, and the Al-Batoul Hospital in Hermel which is located in the
northwest of the country. The rebuilding of these facilities includes
repairing and equipping an operating theatre, providing anaesthetic
drugs and medication plus the possible deployment of MERCY Malaysia’s
medical specialists, all amounting to USD300,000.
“MERCY Malaysia has been involved in the Middle East crisis since 25
July 2006 and we realize that a lot more work is necessary to help
rebuild Lebanon as a country,” said Shareen.
To-date, MERCY Malaysia has been involved in the Emergency Phase and
Recovery & Rebuilding Phase of responding to the Middle East
crisis. The first phase included the donation and distribution of
medical supplies, formula milk and hygiene kits, as well as repairs to
three Islamic Health Society (IHS) centres in Lebanon. The Recovery
& Rebuilding Phase incorporated the purchase and delivery of a
Health Mobile Clinic for IHS’s use in addition to the expertise of
medical specialists from MERCY Malaysia.
In other parts of the region, MERCY Malaysia announced that they will
be sending another mission to North Korea from the 18th to the 27th of
October 2006. The “Gift of Sight” Project will be made up of an
ophthalmology team that will target performing surgery on approximately
100 referral cases in Pyongyang.
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MERCY Malaysia
MERCY Malaysia is a medical organization that provides humanitarian aid
in crisis and non-crisis situations. We serve local communities through
outreach programmes and our focus for the future will be to ensure that
vulnerable communities in Malaysia are better prepared through risk
education and disaster preparedness. MERCY Malaysia is active
internationally and has sent relief missions to Kosovo, Cambodia,
Indonesia (Maluku Island, Nias, Aceh and Jogjakarta), Afghanistan,
Turkey, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Iran, Sudan, North Korea, Pakistan, Maldives
and Lebanon. MERCY Malaysia also runs a Drug Rehabilitation and
Assistance Programme to assist drug reformers return to society.
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