Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has ordered the donation of two field hospitals to Pakistan to provide medical services for flood victims in the country.
This was announced on Sunday by Minister Health Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah. “This generous humanitarian gesture from the king reveals his concern for Muslims all over the world, especially in Arab and Muslim countries,” the minister said.
“Immediate measures are under way to implement the king’s order. These two hospitals will be provided with full teams of physicians and health care workers, along with medical equipment, drugs and supplies needed to provide the best possible health-care services to the victims of the floods,” he said.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to Riyadh, Umar Khan Alisherazi, expressed his appreciation for King Abdullah’s donation.
“On behalf of the president, government and people of Pakistan, I express my deep gratitude for this magnanimous gesture from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. This is over and above the generous financial help from him and the Saudi people for the flood victims in our country. As in the past, Saudi Arabia has been among the first countries to help Pakistan whenever a need arose,” he said.
Alisherazi said the two hospitals came at a time of desperate need for health-care services by large concentrations of displaced people who live in makeshift villages.
The Ministry of Health has set up a coordination committee headed by Deputy Minister for Executive Affairs Dr. Mansour Al Hawwasi. The committee held its first meeting on Sunday to discuss prompt action to implement the royal order.
A source at the ministry said it was more likely that each of these two hospitals have a capacity of one hundred beds, but he did not elaborate on where they would be located.
The Saudi move follows reports coming out of the affected areas that diseases were breaking out and people were suffering from a number of water-borne illnesses. The Ministry of Health, the Saudi Red Crescent, the Saudi Armed Forces and Saudi Arabia Airlines will work jointly to implement the royal order.