Saudi Arabia funds health centres in Pakistan

Riyadh - Saudi Arabia has given 1.8 million dollars to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for five new health units in the Pakistan region hit by an earthquake in October 2005.

Thousands of children and their families will benefit from the facilities Martin Mogwanja, the UNICEF country representative for Pakistan, said Friday.

The units were sponsored by donations from the Saudi Public Assistance for Pakistan Earthquake Victims (SPAPEV). Two will soon be completed in Abbottabad and Muzaffarabad, and construction is expected to begin shortly on the remaining three.

Once completed, each facility will provide primary care facilities to about 60,000 people.

The October 2005 earthquake killed 73,000 people and left 3.3 million homeless in the North West Frontier Province and Pakistan- Administered Kashmir.