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At the request of the Disaster Relief Command of Yingxiu Town, Wenchuan County, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has procured and arranged air-freight of relief supplies, including N95 masks, eye goggles, plastic boots, plastic gloves, protective clothes and disinfectants worth $800,000 to help the needy victims of the Sichuan earthquake disaster. The relief supplies are scheduled to arrive in Sichuan Province today (May 22).
The grant is further to a disbursement of $316 million made earlier for the relief headquarters of the Central Government, The Amity Foundation, Hong Kong Red Cross and World Vision Hong Kong to provide emergency relief to victims affected by the earthquake. It takes the total value of grants for earthquake victims on the Mainland to $316.8 million.
A spokesman for the Government said today (May 22) that the direct shipment at government-to-government level had been made possible under a special mechanism set up by the Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee (DRFAC) for this major disaster.
"The special mechanism enables the HKSAR Government to respond quickly to direct appeals for aid in kind from the governments of the affected provinces/counties and relevant Mainland authorities," the spokesman said.
In line with the established arrangements for grants made under the Fund, the recipient government/authority would provide the Hong Kong Government with a report to confirm the proper use of the supplies, the spokesman said.
Ends/Thursday, May 22, 2008
Issued at HKT 18:51
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