UNHCR donates equipment to women's hospital in Quetta

The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has donated medical equipment worth US $20,000 to a women's hospital in the western Pakistani city of Quetta, capital of Balochistan province. "The donation is under our [UNHCR] programme of assisting medical facilities that serve both Pakistanis and Afghan refugees in two provinces - Balochistan and NWFP [North-West Frontier Province]," Jack Redden, a UNHCR spokesman, told IRIN in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Monday. The UN refugee agency's donation, including an ultrasound machine, a computer graphic printer, an electric generator and surgical equipment, was given to Lady Duffrin Hospital (LDH) in Quetta, the only one in Balochistan caring for women. The 160-bed hospital, established a century ago, also has a recognised nursing school. Last year, UNHCR spent almost $90,000 to upgrade the government-run hospital in the Chaman district of the province. "This is a way that UNHCR can help share the burden of the Pakistani public and the government while they show great generosity in hosting millions of Afghan refugees in Pakistan," Yousif Adam, acting head of the UNHCR sub-office in Quetta, said as he handed over the equipment. "We are not a developmental organisation but UNHCR has done whatever has been possible to help hospitals and other institutions in the country that can benefit the people of Pakistan," Adam added. The medical staff said the equipment was badly needed. "The equipment is urgently needed for the hospital run by a welfare trust on a no-profit no-loss basis," said Dr Arifa Anwar, medical superintendent of LDH. "Patients from the far-flung areas of the province, Afghanistan and Iran come to us for treatment." Anwar added that the hospital couldn't afford to buy the equipment itself as most of its income went on staff salaries. "I thank UNHCR for this timely contribution and hope that, bearing in mind our constraints and our services, other organisations will also come forward," she said. The UNHCR has been helping Afghan refugees living in Pakistan wishing to return to their homeland under a voluntary repatriation programme since March 2002. The agency has assisted 2.2 million refugees to return over the past three years, with nearly 370,000 repatriating so far this year.