By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD, Jul 19 (APP): Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) Chairman Abrar ul Haq Sunday said the newly established Fundraising and Marketing department had collected funds amounting to Rs150 million from private organizations to carry out rescue and relief activities in the wake of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. “Since the emergence of COVID issue in the country, we have been making persistent efforts to develop partnership with private sector and international organizations for the virus prevention, mitigation, treatment and awareness campaigns,†he said in an exclusive interview.
During the last four months, he said the PRCS management revamped the organization structure and set up a few new departments that included Fundraising and Marketing department. The prime objective of marketing department was to partner up with various organizations to get financial and technical assistance for combating the natural calamities. Abrar said the partnership was developed with multiple organizations including Nestle Pakistan and Telenor Pakistan to generate funds and fight the looming threat of coronavirus. Nestle Pakistan, he said had provided Rs 5 million to the PRCS for installation of hand hygiene stations at the public places, quarantine centers and health facilities in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Similarly, Telenor Pakistan had joined the anti-COVID efforts of the PRCS by extending financial assistance of Rs 61 million which was meant to dispense ration and PPEs (personal protective equipments) among deserving people and front-line fighters, respectively.
He said the PRCS had also conducted meetings with Zong Pakistan representatives to ensure utilization of Rs18.3 million – a leftover amount of Rs 30 million donations, announced by the company in 2016. To a query, he said so far the PRCS had distributed some 200,000 N-95 masks among the professionals, combating the virus at forefront. Around 15,000 families had been given financial assistance amounting to Rs 48,000 for each family. As many as 10,000 families were reached out across the country to provide them edibles, he added.
The PRCS, in consultation with Chinese experts, had built a COVID-19 specific hospital in Rawalpindi within 15 days under 2 Passage and 3 Zones formula, the chairman said while highlighting other major initiatives of present management. He said the hospital, entailing 15 ventilators and 120 beds, was first of its kind in Pakistan. The initiative was also appreciated by Prime Minister Imran Khan, he added. Apart from the COVID treatment, Abrar said patients were being provided free food and psychological counseling for their mental well-being after recovery from the contagion.
He said the PRCS had also launched a ‘Muhafiz Force’ to sensitize and feed the poor and needy people in the view of coronavirus. The force had reached out 65,000 households so far to provide them cooked meal at their doorsteps. For food distribution, he said a dedicated application was launched to connect opulent people with poor and needy in their neighborhood.
He said the force visited various areas everyday and would use mosques amplifiers to build psychological resilience among those people who had been going through the emotional insecurity due to the anti-virus lockdowns. The chairman said the PRCS had also signed Memoranda of Understandings with different universities to recruit more volunteers aimed at carrying out rescue and relief activities across the country, in case of any disaster and calamity-like situations. He said blood donations for the PRCS had been doubled due to extensive awareness created among citizens about philanthropism.
