PAKISTAN (March 2020) – The Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) in Pakistan was enlisted as a member of the Pakistani national task force to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in the isolated mountain communities of Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan. FOCUS USA, which engages in crisis response and humanitarian relief through AKAH in developing countries, provided emergency funding to help AKAH Pakistan stockpile food to feed 4,000 households for two weeks. Medical supplies such as personal protective equipment and essential medicines were also provisioned to help support medical professionals and volunteers in the field. These essential supplies will also help vulnerable communities reduce insecurity during this period of uncertainty.
As the coronavirus pandemic first began to evolve in Pakistan, trained volunteers took swift action to procure and transport food and supplies to rural and urban areas across the country. The AKAH team, including a network of 35,000 volunteers across Pakistan, continues to assist communities and local authorities to help deal with the crisis.
Additionally, AKAH Pakistan is working with the Aga Khan Health Services to establish coronavirus screening and isolation centers to help expand the capacity of local health systems.
