France pledges aid to relief operations
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD—French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy has said that we
would provide every possible assistance to the October 8 quake affectees
and special contributions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have just
been awarded: they reach 2,5 million of Euros for the UNICEF, 2 million
of Euros for the ICRC and 2 million of Euros for the WFP. “We have just
made a long and interesting visit of the different departments of the
hospital and I would like to pay homage to the entire medical staff that
I met today. They have been fully mobilised, since the 8th of October,
to help the population hit by the earthquake.
Their dynamism, their professionalism, the permanent care they provide
to their patients are admirable and have greatly impressed me. I would
like to praise the victims and their courage, specially that of the
children in spite of sometimes very serious injuries. In this terrible
hardship Pakistan and its people are going through, France has been
willing to show its strong solidarity from the very first hours of the
disaster”, he said while talking to journalists during his visit to PIMS.
Nevertheless, our cooperation existed before this tragedy, as the
intensive care unit that I visited shows it. This unit is the outcome of
the cooperation between the PIMS and the Saint-Antoine hospital of
Paris. Its has proven extremely useful since the earthquake and I hope
that this cooperation will last, he said. “I am aware of the enormous
work that each one of you is doing on the ground during such emergency
situations. Your activities in Pakistan since the 8th of October prove
it once again.Be assured that France supports you and will continue its
assistance to allow your organization to achieve their missions in
better conditions”, he said.
Moreover, I am glad to announce that you can count on the coming arrival
of a donation of two million doses of anti-tetanus vaccinations and one
million of doses against measles, which are donated by the “Laboratoire
Sanofi-Pasteur”, he said. The work of the UNICEF, the WFP and the ICRC,
we all know it, is far to be achieved, he added.
Executive Director PIMS Dr Fazal Hadi briefed the French Minister and
accompanying delegation on the PIMS situation after the Oct 8 quake and
facilities available at the hospitals. Secretary Health Anwar Mehmood
also thanked French Minister for the cooperation and aid by his country.
France will donate two million doses of anti-tetanus vaccinations
besides providing one million doses against measles in the coming week.
He said special donations from France have reached 2.5 million euros for
the UNICEF, 2 million euros for International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC),
and 2 million euros for the World Food Programme (WFP). He said France
has been willing to show its solidarity from the very first hours of the
disaster. French Foreign Minister said our cooperation existed before
this tragedy, as the intensive care unit is the outcome of it between
Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and the Saint-Antoine
Hospital of Paris. |
