Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS), in response to the current severe cold wave in Bangladesh, has initiated a project to provide winterisation non-food items for the affected households.
The QR114,000 project is being co-ordinated with Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Over a period of one month, personnel from the QRCS representation mission in Bangladesh are distributing a total of 8,000 blankets in Rajshahi city, western Bangladesh. This aid is estimated to help more than 8,000 people, mainly children, women, patients, senior citizens and persons with disability, QRCS has said in a statement.
A memorandum of understanding had been signed with BDRCS to take part in selecting the beneficiaries, procuring supplies from the local market and co-distributing the blankets.
The target areas are those that are inaccessible and where no humanitarian aid had been delivered.
The northern and northwestern parts of country are undergoing a severe cold wave that has so far claimed 27 lives, including 23 children, mostly in Rajshahi. Another 137 children were referred to hospitals for cold-related health problems.
QRCS already has a winterisation drive in progress in nine countries – Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh and Turkey. A total of QR14mn worth of winterisation aid is planned to reach out to more than 225,000 beneficiaries, the statement adds.
