President Dr Arif Alvi on Tuesday said that presently, only 2 percent Pakistanis were donating blood and there was a need to motivate people in this regard through various available platforms, including mosques. The first aid services played a critical role in saving precious human lives and the Pakistan Red Crescent (PRC) was rendering admirable services, the president said in a briefing given by the Pakistan Red Crescent at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

According to a press release, the President underscored that PRC, being the leading humanitarian organization of Pakistan having partnerships with other world organizations, should play the central role in networking with other similar private sector organizations in the country. He said that PRC should also ensure liaison with provincial governments and other related organization in the provinces for the capacity building of the volunteers and workers, particularly in providing the first aid.

The PRC is currently providing services and support in the areas of food items, water sanitation, hygiene, health care, psychosocial support, restoring family link services, emergency & permanent shelter, and livelihood support. It has 132 ambulances, 1.8 million registered volunteers for blood donation, 7 blood banks, disaster preparedness stock for 20,000 families, and 1775 disaster response members.

The PRC is also extending its support for eradicating polio from Pakistan through routine immunization in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and for strengthening primary healthcare services in Balochistan.

Copyright Associated Press of Pakistan, 2019