SINDH, 31 May 2013 – MERCY Malaysia handed over the Rural Health Centre in Mirpurkhas District, Sindh, Pakistan yesterday to the local government. The Rural Health Centre was reconstructed with the funding of USD 1 Million from the Malaysian government. The handover was officiated by the H.E. Abu Bakar bin Mamat (Consulate General of Malaysia to Karachi) and witnessed by Hon. Dr. Shafqat Hussain Daheri (Executive Director of Health, Mirpurkhas) & the Hon. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohamed Ikram Bin Mohamed Salleh (Vice President I, MERCY Malaysia)
The need for the reconstruction and the upgrade of the Rural Health Centre was determined after MERCY Malaysia sent in an assessment team in January 2012, to assess the damage done after the district faced massive floods in late 2011. The team assessed the needs of the affected community in terms of health, water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH), public health and infrastructure.
The team which consisted of two senior programme officers, a medical doctor and a quantity surveyor visited the districts of Mirpurkhas, Badin and Umarkot.
Based on the assessment and funding from the people and Government of Malaysia, MERCY Malaysia concluded that the following issues needed to be addressed:
basic water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)
increase the community access for primary health services specifically in the remote areas
rehabilitate the infrastructure and revitalise the capacity of the health providers in the affected areas
The local authorities agreed to work with MERCY Malaysia to refurbish and extend the Rural Health Centre (RHC) Building at Tando Jan Muhammad in Mirpurkhas. The construction process took a total of 6 months and ended in January 2013.
As a health based humanitarian organisation, MERCY Malaysia hopes that this project will increase the ability of the Rural Health Centre in providing better and more comprehensive services for the local community.
The centre offers free medical aid for a range of services which includes maternity, accident and trauma care, circumcision, expanded immunisation programmes (EPI), Tuberculosis consultation and treatment, and outpatient and primary healthcare.
The reconstructed Rural Health Centre is now able to offer 24 hours services, as medical staff members are now being housed at the newly refurbished staff quarters. In the past MERCY Malaysia also has responded to the call for assistance and set up static and mobile clinics as well as distributed hygiene kits throughout Pakistan.
Should you wish to help, kindly make a donation to the MERCY Malaysia fund through the following bank accounts:
MAYBANK (account name: MERCY HUMANITARIAN FUND, account number:
5621-7950-4126, ABA Swift Code: MBBEMYKLA), or
CIMB Bank (account name: MERCY Malaysia, account number: 1424-000-6561053,
ABA Swift Code: CIBBMYKL).
Donations via cheque are payable to MERCY MALAYSIA
To donate online, please visit www.mercy.org.my
For more information on MERCY Malaysia’s various efforts or to make a donation, please visit www.mercy.org.my.
About MERCY Malaysia
MERCY Malaysia is a non-profit organisation focusing on providing medical relief, sustainable health related development and risk reduction activities for vulnerable communities in both crisis and noncrisis situations. MERCY Malaysia recognises the value of working with partners and volunteers as well as providing opportunities for individuals to serve with professionalism. We uphold the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief and hold ourselves accountable to our donors and beneficiaries. As a non-profit organisation, MERCY Malaysia relies solely on funding and donations from organisations and generous individuals to continue our services to provide humanitarian assistance to our beneficiaries. For more information, please visit www.mercy.org.my
For more information, please contact
Eyasmin Sahul Hameed, Head of Communications & Strategic Engagement
E: eyasmin@mercy.org.my T: 6-03-2273 3999, F: 6-03-2272 3812,
Norehan Salleh, Communications Officer
E: norehan@mercy.org.my T: 6-03-2273 3999, F: 6-03-2272 3812,