STAMFORD, CT/LOS ANGELES, CA
– AmeriCares, a nonprofit international relief organization, is delivering more than $215,000 worth of urgently needed medicines and medical supplies to its partner, International Medical Corps,
to help the displaced inside Pakistan. The conflict between the government and the anti-government forces has spread beyond the Swat Valley to the rest of the North-West Frontier Province, causing as
many as 1.8 million people to flee their homes and seek safety in camps.
International Medical Corps is providing 24-hour health coverage and referrals, in Yar Hussein Mera Camp in Swabi, which
is now housing 5,500 people. “Acute diarrhea, upper respiratory tract infections, and scabies are among the most common diseases treated by the International Medical Corps team,” says
Sonia Walia, International Medical Corps regional coordinator for Asia. “The medicines and supplies donated by AmeriCares are a critical component of our response.”
Thousands of
families arrive at the camps each day, many in need of medical care. “Sadly, many of the people seeking safety have been injured during the conflict; some even have open wounds from the
bombings,” reports an AmeriCares relief worker on the ground in Pakistan. “Some families have walked more than 30 miles in order to get out of the war zone and protect themselves and their
children.”The medical aid AmeriCares is delivering includes critical supplies for safe surgeries and wound care; medications for people with chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and high
blood pressure; and pain medications for treating fever and preventing further dehydration of children.International Medical Corps mobile health units are providing services to those displaced
outside of the camps, with a focus on maternal and child care. These services are also being extended to the host population, which is strained due to the massive influx of people. AmeriCares has
partnered with International Medical Corps to provide donated medicines for their health programs serving refugees and other vulnerable populations in Chad, Cameroon, Kenya, Liberia, Lebanon and Iraq.
***
About AmeriCares AmeriCares is a nonprofit international disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization which provides immediate
response to emergency medical needs and supports long-term humanitarian assistance programs around the world. Since it was established in 1982, AmeriCares has distributed more than $8 billion in
humanitarian aid to 137 countries. For more information, visit www.AmeriCares.org.About International Medical
Corps Since its inception 25 years ago, International Medical Corps’ mission has been to relieve the suffering of those impacted by war, natural disaster and disease, by delivering
vital health care services that focus on training. This approach of helping people help themselves is critical to returning devastated populations to self-reliance. For more information visit our
website at www.imcworldwide.org.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
A young Tamil boy and old man sit out the front of their temporary shelters at the Manik Farm refugee camp located on the outskirts of the northern Sri Lankan town ...
