ISLAMABAD, Nov 20: The French government has announced a donation of two million doses of vaccines against tetanus and one million against measles.

The announcement was made by Philippe Douste Blazy, the French Foreign Minister, during his visit to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on Sunday.

He said: “I am glad to announce that you can count on the coming arrival of a donation of two million doses of anti-tetanus vaccines and one million doses against measles, which are donated by the Laboratoire Sanofi-Pasteur.” He also announced 6.5 million euros ($7.6 million) in special grants for international aid agencies working in the quake-hit areas.

The grants included 2.5 million euros for Unicef and two million euros each for the International Committee of the Red Cross and the World Food Programme. Health Secretary Anwar Mahmood said that some 140 cases of tetanus had been reported since Oct 8.