ISLAMABAD: King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) has distributed food parcels in the districts of Lahore, Faisalabad and Jhang under its Ramadan assistance program for Punjab province.
In the first phase of the program, nearly 1,700 Ramadan food packages weighing almost 50 tons were delivered to needy families in the three regions, benefitting over 10,000 people, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Monday.
A man receives KSRelief Ramadan food aid in Punjab on April 27, 2020. (SPA)
The $1 million aid program for Punjab was launched on Thursday.
“Under this food relief project, more than 20,000 food bags will be distributed among the poor families residing in the province during Ramadan,” Saudi Ambassador Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki told Arab News at the project’s inauguration ceremony in Islamabad.
The assistance comes as the most populous Pakistani province is facing mass job losses amid business shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“The new food distribution campaign will benefit more than 120,000 people in 10 districts of Punjab ... We started this project from Punjab since it is the most populated province and severely affected by COVID-19. We will extend it to other provinces as well,” said Khalid Al-Othmani, director KSRelief Pakistan.
The KSRelief has provided humanitarian and development assistance to millions of beneficiaries in more than 49 countries. Pakistan is the fifth-largest recipient of aid from the Saudi-based international aid agency and has received more than $120.2 million in aid since 2005.
