PESHAWAR, Jan 8: USAID has provided $1.5 million grant for health, water, sanitation and shelter facilities in the areas affected by the Oct 8 earthquake. USAID officials on Sunday briefed a Peshawar-based journalists’ delegation in the quake-hit Saeedabad area of Mansehra district about relief and reconstruction work launched through the Mercy Corps, an international NGO.

USAID was constructing 6,000 warm rooms, shelters at 5,000-foot altitude in Mansehra district, the officials said, adding that around 2,500 shelters had been completed.

Mercy Corps was working with communities to clear debris and recover materials to build shelters, the officials said and added that community cooperation mechanism had been strengthened in Konch and Siran valleys of Mansehra and Tikri valley in Battagram.

Mercy Corps spends at least two weeks in each village and provide services of community mobilizers and technical advisers to assist villagers in the construction of their shelters.

Mercy Corps gave technical inputs and guidance as well as tools and shelter materials including plastic tarps, CGI, wood stove and blankets.—APP