20 January 2010 - MERCY Malaysia is accepting donations to provide emergency medical relief for the survivors of the Haiti earthquake which occurred recently on January 12.

The monies will be channeled directly to Haiti to be utilised by MERCY Malaysia's partner, Medical Emergency Relief International (Merlin), who are now on the ground at Port-au-Prince, said MERCY Malaysia President Dr Ahmad Faizal Perdaus.

A UK-based INGO, Merlin specialises in health, saving lives in times of crisis and helping to rebuildshattered health services.

"Providing support in this way is much more efficient. Channeling funds directly to Merlin's on-site team is a better way for us to contribute to the earthquake survivors without adding to the current logistical bottleneck at Haiti," said Dr Faizal.

The United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) had recently reported that fuel shortages, damaged infrastructure and the sheer scale of the Haitian earthquake disaster are hampering a massive relief effort, but aid is getting through to survivors.

According to Merlin’s Director of Programmes Pete Sweetnam, Merlin has sent two teams to Haiti; the first response team arrived in Haiti on Saturday and is delivering assistance.

“An additional eleven strong emergency medical team was sent on the first available flight to Haiti, which touched down on the island on 18 January and arrived in Port-au-Prince yesterday”, he added.

"The funds collected will be used to support the team in their emergency medical relief activities," said Sweetnam.

Concerned individuals and organisations can donate to the MERCY Malaysia Haiti Relief Fund through the following accounts:
MAYBANK (account name: MERCY HUMANITARIAN FUND, account number : 5621-7950-4126, ABA Swift Code: MBBEMYKLA), or
CIMB Bank (account name: MERCY Malaysia, account number: 1424-000-6561053, ABA Swift Code: CIBBMYKL).

For further information, please contact the following:
G.Anuradha, Sr Officer Fundraising & Events, MERCY Malaysia, anu@mercy.org.my
Shuhada Rosdi, Communications Officer, MERCY Malaysia, shuhada@mercy.org.my
Louise Orton, Head of Communications, Merlin, louise.orton@merlin.org.uk

MERCY Malaysia,
Level 2, Podium Block, City Point, Kompleks Dayabumi, Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, 50050 KL.
T: 6-03-2273 3999, F: 6-03-2272 3812, W: www.mercy.org.my

Merlin
12th Floor, 207 Old Street, London EC1V 9NR
T: +44 (0) 20 7014 1600, F: +44 (0) 20 7014 1641, W: www.merlin.org.uk

About Merlin

Merlin is an international aid agency that specialises in improving health in fragile states. All our work - from saving lives in times of crisis to supporting the long-term delivery of essential care - is geared towards building a health system that can cope with needs on the ground now and in the future.

MERCY Malaysia continued its School Preparedness Programme in 2008 which aims to promote a culture of disaster preparedness among school children and to increase capacity of schools and students to respond to disasters. The programme expanded its coverage to several states in the country.

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