ISLAMABAD, Aug 19: The Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has decided to provide further relief assistance to 18,000 families in the flood-affected areas of Balochistan and Sindh.

A high-level meeting held at PRCS headquarters in Islamabad on Sunday decided that assistance would be provided to 6,000 families in Turbat and 4,000 each in Jhal Magsi, Shahdadkot and Dadu.

The meeting, which was chaired by PRCS Chairman Saeed Ahmed Qureshi, reviewed the organisation’s relief operations in the flood-affected areas of Balochistan and Sindh, and gave approval for extending the relief operations.

The meeting was attended by Mian Mohammad Javed, Maj-Gen (retired) Mohammad Nawaz, Mian Tayyab and PRCS Secretary-General Khalid Kibriya.

PRCS Director Operations Mohammad Ilyas Khan, who is monitoring and coordinating the relief operations, briefed the meeting about the ongoing efforts to mitigate the sufferings of the flood victims in the two provinces.

Mr Khan told the meeting that so far the PRCS in collaboration with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the International Committee of Red Cross had extended relief assistance to the tune of Rs142 million that included 10,074 tents, 20,243 blankets, 4.5 tons of food items and 4.5 tons of medicines.

The official said PRCS medical teams working in the affected areas had so far attended to 26,102 patients.

In addition, water and sanitation teams deployed in the affected areas were providing about 300,000 litres of clean drinking water from purification plants.

He said that Finish (Health), Spanish (Watsan), British (Sanitation), Austrian (Watsan) and Danish (Logistic) emergency response units had been deployed in Kambar Shahdadkot, Dadu and Karachi.

About the foreign assistance, the PRCS director operations told the meeting that the Kuwait Red Crescent, UAE Red Crescent, Iranian Red Crescent, German Consulate and German Red Cross had offered donations of tents, blankets, tarpaulins, kitchen stoves, hygiene kits, plastic sheets, medicines and donations in cash for the relief operation.

Ilyas Khan said a German Red Cross Watsan and Health Emergency Response Unit was being deployed to cater to the water and health needs of the affected people of Jhal Magsi.

PRCS Chairman Saeed Ahmed Qureshi expressed his satisfaction at the ongoing relief activities in the affected areas, and said that the PRCS being the leading humanitarian organisation of the country was fully alive to the needs of the victims and all efforts would be made to mitigate their sufferings.

He directed the officials to speed up the relief operations and assist the communities in rebuilding, recovery and risk reduction.