PESHAWAR, Feb 22: The United Nations Organisation, in order to provide medical assistance to the people in rain and snow affected areas of the NWFP, has donated kits of essential medicines to the provincial government.

The donation, handed over to the health department on Tuesday, was made in the light of a report of the UN's joint assessment mission which had carried out a three-day survey of the damage caused by rains, snowfall and landslides in the NWFP and adjoining tribal areas. The calamites had left 395 people dead and another 772 injured.

Dr Quaid Saeed, the coordination officer of UN's agencies in Peshawar, told Dawn that a total of six kits had been donated by the World Health Organisation (WHO), of which five were handed over to the director-general health, whereas the remaining one would be given to the health department on Wednesday.

The kits were meant for the districts of Abbottabad, Shangla, Mansehra, Battagram, Kohistan and Swat. He said that one kit, consisting of various essential medicines, was enough for 10,000 people for three months. He said the UN was monitoring the situation and more drugs would also be supplied to the affected areas.

"These are standardised drugs required by the people in the post-disaster scenario", Dr Quaid, explained, adding that the kits contained life-saving, anti-biotic and pain-killer drugs for different age groups.

The UN's official said that they would ensure that the drugs reached the deserving people. He said the consignments would be dispatched to the executive district officers (health) of the respective districts.

The EDOs would receive the drugs on their stock registers and then send them to the concerned health facilities according to the needs of the people, he added. The WHO's mission, he said, would monitor the distribution of the drugs by visiting affected areas and checking the record of the EDOs.

Meanwhile, Unicef has also donated three kits of essential drugs for the affected population districts Swat, Abbottabad and Mansehra. Dr Quaid said that the UN had also made elaborate plan to establish surveillance system in the affected districts. It would enable the agency to take remedial measures in case of any disaster.

He said that WHO, UNFPA, Unicef, Plan International, PRCS and SUNGI, in collaboration with the district governments, were carrying out relief work in Abbottabad, Mansehra, Kohistan, Battagram, Shangla and Lower Dir. He said more efforts were needed to help the people.

Dr Quaid, said that the WHO's Peshawar-based sub office had been declared coordination office for the relief activities. He said that they had been holding meetings at the Unicef's office to share information regarding the relief activities and to take measures accordingly.