COVID-19 outbreak: Five ambulances handed over to KP govt

PESHAWAR: On the instructions from Minister for States and Frontier Regions (Safron) Sahibzada Mehboob Sultan, the Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees in collaboration with UNHCR handed over five fully equipped ambulances to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to deal with the corona pandemic.

The assistance will enable the provincial government and departments concerned for a comprehensive response to counter the pandemic.

The Ministry of Safron requested the provincial government that coverage area should include Afghan refugees and also the five districts where Afghan refugees had high presence.

In the wake of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and in an effort to support the KP government to mitigate the economic, social and health impacts of this crisis, the Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have redoubled efforts to support the government response to COVID-19 pandemic.

The ambulances would be deployed to refugee hosting districts including Peshawar, Kohat, Mardan, Swabi and Haripur.

Muhammad Abbas Khan, Commissioner Afghan Refugees said that the Ministry of Safron and UNHCR had always supported the provincial government in challenging times and appreciated the ongoing measures taken by the government of KP to combat COVID-19.

Head of Sub-Office Peshawar, Bernard Inkoom appreciated the government for including Afghan refugees in the national COVID-19 surveillance, preparedness and response plan activities and taking measures to protect refugees and their host communities in the province.

He stated that refugees and host communities enjoyed peaceful coexistence for over 40 years accessing education and health services provided by the government of Pakistan.

It is, therefore, the priority of UNHCR to contribute towards reducing the spread of the virus and its impact on refugees and host communities in this critical period.

The representative of Relief, Rehabilitation and Settlement Department, KP thanked the commissioner Afghan Refugees and UNHCR for their contribution.