ISLAMABAD: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) has completed its winter aid distribution in Pakistan, handing out 19,000 relief packages to people in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan provinces, the Saudi aid agency said on Thursday.
The Saudi aid agency undertook the initiative to provide relief to individuals in the coldest regions of Pakistan, in response to the pressing needs of communities affected by floods caused by unprecedented monsoon rains last year.
"The distribution process was carried out with utmost transparency, in collaboration with provincial governments and Hayat Foundation as implementing partner, ensuring that the assistance reached those who needed it most," it said in a statement.
"Overall, the winter relief packages provided by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center benefited more than 133,000 individuals in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan."
As part of the aid distribution plan, 11,000 winter relief packages were distributed across five districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Upper Chitral, Lower Chitral, Upper Dir, Upper Swat and Upper Kohistan. Additionally, 8,000 packages were distributed in four districts of Balochistan, namely Kalat, Sohrab, Killa Saifullah and Ziarat, according to KSrelief.
These packages included two quilts and warm shawls for both men and women as well as warm clothing for children and adults.
The aid agency said the effort was aimed at alleviating the suffering of those affected by the floods and extending assistance to deserving individuals in dire need.
The Saudi organization has one of the largest humanitarian budgets available to any aid agency across the world. This has allowed its officials to undertake a wide variety of projects in more than 80 countries.
Pakistan is the fifth largest beneficiary of its aid and humanitarian activities and has greatly benefited from its assistance since last year’s monsoon floods that killed more than 1,700 people and devastated crops and public infrastructure on a large scale.
KSrelief has completed 170 projects in Pakistan that related to education, healthcare, water, sanitation, hygiene and community support and collectively cost about $163 million since it was established in 2015.