US hands over hospital to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir govt

The US today handed over a new hospital to the government in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, as a part of its 2005 earthquake reconstruction assistance.
The Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Hospital in Dhirkot was inaugurated by USAID Pakistan Mission Director Gregory Gottlieba and Sardar Qamar Zaman, PoK's Minister of Health, the US Embassy said in a statement here.
"The handover of the hospital marked the completion of the United States 2005 earthquake reconstruction assistance under which 77 buildings with a funding of USD 137 million were reconstructed in Bagh, AJK and Mansehra district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa," it added.
The hospital will serve 200 patients daily and is the largest health facility serving over 80,000 people from surrounding areas.

The hospital is built to be earthquake-resistant.
"Consistent with American values, the United States has provided life-saving humanitarian assistance to millions of Pakistanis affected by disasters, and since 2009 US humanitarian assistance in Pakistan has accounted for USD 1 billion," Gottlieb said.

Through this assistance, 77 buildings comprising 61 schools and 16 health facilities destroyed in the 2005 earthquake were reconstructed and furnished.
Schools constructed under this program serve 18,000 students from 556 villages and health facilities serve over half a million people, the statement said.
Under its larger infrastructure support efforts, the US through USAID is also building a genecology and fistula ward at Karachi's Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, constructing a 133-bed hospital in Jacobabad, reconstructing or renovating 7 faculties of education buildings at several universities, and rehabilitating flood-affected schools in Sindh and Balochistan provinces.