TEHRAN: The
Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) praised the initiative of His Highness the
Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in providing urgent assistance to
flood victims which recently hit a number of areas in Iran. Kuwait is the first
Arab country to provide assistance to those affected by the floods, IRCS
Director General for International Operations and Programs, Mehrdad Eshraghi,
told KUNA yesterday.

Around 11 million
people were affected by floods that swept through 23 Iranian provinces, where
the IRCS have provided shelter for about 220,000 people, Eshraghi said. The
most affected provinces are Lorestan and Khuzestan, he said, and about 266,000
people need an urgent help, especially as the weather is still bad amid
continuous rain.

For his part,
Deputy Chairman of Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) and head of the mission
Anwar Al-Hasawi said in similar statement to KUNA during a meeting with IRCS
team, that plans have been made to be implemented urgently to help the victims
of the floods in the affected areas. Some of affected areas will be visited to
assess their needs for supplies, medical equipment, foodstuffs and water pumps,
Al-Hasawi added.

In related news,
a planeload of relief supplies headed for the Yemeni island of Socotra
yesterday to aid the population that have been suffering from harsh living
conditions. Director General of Kuwait Red Crescent Society Abdulrahman Al-Aoun
said in a statement to KUNA that the new consignment of assistance supplies was
a follow-up to previous batches that had been dispatched to the island when it
was ravaged by a severe cyclone almost a year ago. KRCS teams, during the visit
to the island, will distribute fishing boats to fishermen; oversee the
installment of solar energy panels for 250 houses while medics would examine
patients, particularly a number of the islanders who have been suffering from
various skin diseases.

Elsewhere, Kuwait
Consulate General in Irbil, north Iraq, commemorating the World Autism
Awareness Day (WAAD), handed out gifts to children with special needs. Speaking
to KUNA in a statement on Friday, Consul General Omar Al-Kandari said, "We
are keen to be with children who are suffering from autism to take part in the
WAAD and make these children happy." He added that this initiative, which
comes at the behest of His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad
Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in the framework of "Kuwait beside you" campaign,
signals his care for this segment of the society. Kuwait's aid to Iraqi people
would continue and vary to cover all segments of the Iraqi society, he noted.

Meanwhile, head
of Irbil's autism center Kamal Al-Jabari thanked Kuwait and its humanitarian
organization for being interested in children with special needs. There are
2,800 people suffering autism in Irbil, and they are in dire need of treatment
and training, he noted. Their families need support, as their monthly income
cannot afford the cost of treatment, he said, calling for more backing to these
children and their families to alleviate their sufferings. - KUNA