BCF continues distributing cleaning, food parcels to areas under quarantine
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – On Thursday, the Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF) distributed food and cleaning parcels to villages that have been placed under quarantine, because of the coronavirus pandemic in Erbil and Duhok provinces, as the Kurdish charity announced.
Villages in Mergasor and Bardarash districts in those two provinces have recently recorded a high number of cases of the highly contagious disease. In order to counter the further spread of the virus, Korke village in Mergasor and Zelka Adko village in Bardarash were placed under quarantine, a measure that has led to food shortages for low-income families.
The Kurdistan Region has seen a spike in coronavirus cases, since the re-opening of the border with Iran. That has been compounded by a failure of some members of the public to properly follow the advice of health authorities.
Read More: COVID-19 spikes again in Iran, with regional implications
Consequently, a particularly serious situation has emerged in Sulaimani province, where 66 per cent of all cases of the infection have been detected—and 85 per cent of all coronavirus-related deaths have occurred.
Read More: KRG sends Sulaimani extra $1.6 million to fight COVID-19 as Kurdistan cases top 3,000
The food parcels that the BCF are distributing include essential items that the average family will need. As Bewar Karim, the BCF representative in Bardarash, told Kurdistan 24, “Each family is given a 60 kilogram [132 pounds] package of food.”
Karim also explained how the aid is being distributed. The process is coordinated with the head of the village, and “the parcels are delivered to the doorstep of each family.”
On Thursday, the BCF distributed food to more than 150 families In the village of Korke in Erbil province’s Mergasor district, according to figures provided by the charity organization.
On Wednesday, the BCF began to distribute 1,000 parcels of food and cleaning items to Choman district in Erbil province, which is also under quarantine, because of an increase in coronavirus cases there.
Read More: BCF distributes 1,000 food, cleaning parcels to quarantined Choman district
The BCF is one of the most active humanitarian NGOs in Kurdistan, and it regularly provides substantial amounts of aid to displaced persons and refugees in Iraq, the Kurdistan Region, and northern Syria. It also has multiple programs which aim to improve the lives of displaced children.
The organization was founded in 2005, shortly after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. In its own words, it “strives to honor the great legacy of Mulla Mustafa Barzani, the leader of the Kurdish Liberation Movement and influencer of the contemporary Kurdish nation.”
Edited by Laurie Mylroie