During an urgent meeting convened at IDB Group headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, members of the Board of Executive Directors approved a mechanism for providing assistance to Pakistan and decided to focus on scaling up the bank’s strategic engagement, in response to the unfolding disaster, through the planned Member Country Partnership Strategy (MCPS) . The Board also decided that a US$ 1.2 million grant, part of a US$ 11.2 million emergency relief and rehabilitation package for Pakistan, will be aligned with the immediate relief needs as determined by agencies and implemented by humanitarian organizations with whom IDB Group has partnered in the past. The decision is based on an initial needs assessment and consultation with the government of Pakistan conducted by a recent IDB Group mission to the country. The US$ 11.2 million is part of a previous US$ 1.25 billion pledge by the IDB Group for development projects in Pakistan to be fully disbursed by June, 2011. Under the decision, the IDB Group will also engage in restoration of the agriculture sector of the nation as well as restoration of social services, health and education in particular. The recent devastating floods in Pakistan have directly affected almost 20 million people across the nation displacing around 5 million, part of whom are now living in camps. Despite large scale international health assistance, key concerns continue to prevail regarding access to medical and health services including vaccination against various communicable diseases.