ECHO team visits PRCS

Islamabad : A two-member delegation of the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO) visited the Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) National Headquarters here on Thursday.

Bernard Jaspers Faijer, Head of Office Pakistan/Iran at the European Union Humanitarian Aid Office, headed the delegation. ECHO has allocated €2 million to support the response of PRCS to the pandemic under its Domestic Response Plan (DRP). The top brass of PRCS including Chairman Abrar ul Haq, Acting Secretary General Adeel Nawaz, Joint Director Operations Abaidullah Khan, and Adviser Coordination and Transformation Shahrukh briefed the delegation on response to the pandemic under DRP.

The response includes establishment of Rawalpindi Corona Care Hospital (RCCH) within 15 days, initial screening, blood donation, provision of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), mass awareness campaign through the Muhafiz Force of volunteers, collection and provision of cooked food to vulnerable families during and after the lockdown, and WASH support.

Abrar informed the delegation that the ECHO funds were being spent in a transparent way, enabling PRCS to save many precious human lives. He said, over 2 million people had benefited from the COVID-19 emergency response so far.

Bernard expressed satisfaction over the transparent use of funding by PRCS and its ongoing response to the pandemic. He also praised the activities of Muhafiz Force and 1030 service. Later on, he interacted with volunteers and exhorted them to spare no effort to serve humanity. The delegation also visited the Rawalpindi Corona Care Hospital where they were briefed by the Deputy Medical Superintendent.