Finland dispatches winterized tents to Pakistan

Press release 329/2005
26 October, 2005


Finland donates additional 3, 15 million euros to help the victims of the Pakistan earthquake.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland allocates 2, 7 million euros to Finnish Red Cross in order to acquire and deliver winterized tents. The sum will be used to acquire 6000 tents from Pakistan's neighbouring countries to accommodate 40 000 people. The tents will be distributed as temporary accommodation for those most in need. The tents will also be delivered to remote villages whose inhabitants have so far been beyond international aid.

FinnChurchAid will be granted 300 000 euros to acquire residential and building materials as well as household equipment and healthcare services. The Ministry of Defence and Ministry of the Interior will donate 1 000 army winter tents which the FinnChurchAid will deliver to Pakistan.

150 000 euros will be donated through The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission which will spend the amount to help two Christian churches in the province near the North-eastern border.

The Finnish Red Cross has earlier been granted 1 million euros to cover the expenses of a field hospital that has been dispatched to Pakistan. In addition the Ministry of the Interior has supported a UN group which assessed the damages of the disaster.

Roughly 3 million people lost their homes in the Pakistan earthquake. With the help of international aid temporary shelter, which requires hundreds of thousands winterized tents, has been arranged for them.

The UN has called a meeting on Pakistan aid relief to be held in Geneva on Wednesday.

More information: Counsellor Timo Karmakallio, Unit for Humanitarian Assistance, tel. 09 1605 6342

Background: earthquake in South Asian (in Finnish)(Link to another website.)