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MERCY Malaysia Responds To Disaster In Pakistan With Deployment |
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Tuesday, 03 July 2007 |
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – In response to the devastation that Cyclone Yemyin has caused, MERCY Malaysia will mobilize its first 5-member medical and assessment relief team into the Pakistani provinces of Balochistan and Sindh on the 5th of July 2007.
Equipped to provide medical and humanitarian services to the displaced
people that currently number approximately 250,000, MERCY Malaysia’s
team will consist of 1 medical officer, 2 nurses and 1 logistician from
Malaysia, as well as a medical assistant from the organisation’s
representative office in Afghanistan.
“As water levels are now falling in some parts of flood-hit Pakistan,
we will finally be able to reach areas that have been inaccessible for
days,” said Datuk Dr. Jemilah, President of MERCY Malaysia. “Our first
medical and assessment team will be stationed in Pakistan for two
weeks, and we will send in more relief teams according to how the
crisis plays out.”
According to a report from Reuters AlertNet (“Pakistan step up flood
rescue; more rain due”, 2 July 2007) Pakistan, Afghanistan and India
have been badly affected by Cyclone Yemyin packing winds of up to 130
kilometres per hour . The early rainy-season storms and flooding have
killed more than 650 people across the region in the past 11 days,
affecting a total of 2 million people, with an estimated 204 people
missing. South Pakistan has been hit hardest as torrential rain and
severe flooding have affected the flat and usually desert-like
Balochistan province in particular, and more bad weather is expected.
According to reports, urgent needs at the moment include clean water,
medical supplies for diarrhoea, gastric infections, vaccinations and
more, as well as temporary shelter plus emergency health kits and
trauma kits.
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