Materia Medica Malaysiana

Mercy Malaysia dispensing aid to Fallujah’s needy

PETALING JAYA: It is nearing winter in Iraq and the Malaysian Medical Relief Society (Mercy Malaysia) is dispensing essential items to the internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Fallujah to help them through this difficult time.
The organisation is distributing humanitarian aid worth US$20,000 (RM76,000) to the IDPs at present.
Its head of mission, Dr Hamid Altai, said Mercy Malaysia had donated food as well as other items such as bedding and warm clothing.
“Mercy Malaysia has also been trying to reach the civilians still living in the battered city of Fallujah,” he said from Iraq in a press statement on Tuesday.
He added: “We are deeply concerned about the women and children who have no access to water, food and medical care.
“However, all our attempts have failed because our passage was blocked by the American troops although the aid we are trying to extend is crucial to their survival.”
This prohibition, Dr Hamid, had only been recently lifted with the US forces authorising the Iraqi Red Crescent Society to enter the city.
Mercy Malaysia president Datuk Dr Jemilah Mahmood called on the public to support the organisation's work in Iraq.
“There are still urgent supplies needed for the people who have fled their homes and are living in and around Fallujah,” she said.
In 2003, the organisation spent a total of RM2.44mil on medical and humanitarian assistance in Iraq.
It has completed the rehabilitation of the Ibn Al-Quff Hospital and the Al-Mansoor Paediatric Teaching Hospital.
For details, call Mercy Malaysia
at 03-4256 9999 or e-mail: info@mercy.org.my.