ISLAMABAD, Feb 22: Pakistan has received a large amount of relief medicines for quake survivors from Australia. Australian High Commissioner Zorica MacCarthy handed over the medicines to Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Secretary Dr Sher Shah Syed at a ceremony organized by the Human Resource Development Network (HRDN) here on Wednesday.

The medicines include 1.5 million Doryx tablets and huge quantity of Betadine surgical scrub worth 541,000 Australian dollars.

Speaking on the occasion, the Australian high commissioner said Australia had been actively involved in the relief operations in Pakistan with a special focus on medical assistance for the survivors of earthquake.

She congratulated the HRDN for taking the initiative of mobilizing Pakistani community in Australia and praised Mohammed Ali, a Pakistani expatriate, for his excellent job in getting medicine from F.H. Faulding pharmaceutical company for earthquake survivors. She hoped that the PMA would ensure the best use of the medicine before their expiry.

HRDN Chairperson Roomi Saeed Hayat and Executive Director Azhar Saeed were also present at the occasion.

Human Resource Development Network is an association of HRD professionals from Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and other developing Asian countries and organizations from the private and public sectors.

In the aftermath of October 8 earthquake, HRDN was among the first responders to the survivors of this disaster. It joined hands with the PMA and few other NGOs and set up an emergency hospital in Mansehra on the fourth day of the earthquake.

The hospital treated more than 1,500 critically injured patients and is still functioning smoothly. Soon after the earthquake HRDN mobilized Pakistani community in Australia for their possible support to the survivors.

Realizing the urgent need of medicine in the earthquake-hit area of NWFP, HRDN has already started distributing medicine to some camp hospitals in Balakot.