Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW
Vol. 5 Num 215 Fri. December 31, 2004  
   
General


Dhaka to send medicines to tsunami-hit Saarc states


Bangladesh has decided to send emergency medicines to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, two worst tsunami-hit countries in the Saarc region.

Health Directorate has already stored medical relief procured from Essential Drug Company Limited (EDCL) of the government and various private medicine companies in the Prime Minister's Relief Fund (PMRF), official sources said here yesterday.

The PMRF will send those medicines soon to the disaster affected states, who are two island nations of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) that groups Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The relief goods include water purification tablets, anti-biotics to combat post-disaster diarrhoea, influenza and other communicable diseases. Other medical items include oral and intra-venous saline and disposable syringe.

Health ministry sources said the medicines and the medicare equipment worth Tk one crore have been sent to the PM Relief Fund.