Iran donates $100mn in aid to Pakistan

Iran has donated $100 million in aid to millions of flood victims in Pakistan, vowing to continue sending in relief shipments.

Iran will continue to dispatch relief aid to flood-ravaged Pakistan, said Abbas Babaei, an Iranian Red Crescent Society official in charge of flood relief operations.

Another 300 truckloads of aid are to arrive in Pakistan soon, he was quoted by a Press TV correspondent as saying.

He said following Leader of Islamic Ummah and Oppressed People Imam Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s call for redoubling efforts to reach out to Pakistani flood victims, the Iranian Red Crescent Society launched a special program to provide relief services to the flood-affected people.

The Iranian official underlined that public and government relief consignments including tents, carpets, blankets, mineral water, kitchen utensils, flour, rice, edible oil, washing liquid and hygiene sets have arrived in Pakistan at different intervals.

At least 1,760 people have lost their lives and 20 million have been affected by the recent flooding in Pakistan.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 650,000 families whose homes were wiped out by the floods remain without basic shelter.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of the threat of epidemics in flood-stricken areas. The WHO fears that up to 300,000 could contract cholera in the aftermath of the devastating floods.

Relief agencies warn that aid is too slow to arrive for millions without clean water, food and homes in the flood-hit regions of Pakistan.