JAKARTA - Indonesia’s Red Cross Society (PMI) will procure medicines in Pakistan to support civilians affected by the escalating humanitarian crisis in Iran, its chairman Jusuf Kalla said on April 8 during a meeting at PMI headquarters in Jakarta. 

The former vice president of Indonesia said that a PMI team will travel this week to Islamabad to source medicines locally with support from the Pakistan Red Crescent Society and the Indonesian embassy, before handing them over to the Iranian Red Crescent Society.

“Local procurement in Pakistan is more effective and efficient than shipping goods from Indonesia, which is expensive and takes longer,” Kalla said, adding that medical instructions in Pakistan are easier to understand than those from Indonesia.

PMI said in the April 9 statement that public donations, collected via bank transfers through Mandiri and BRI, will be distributed through the Iranian Red Crescent Society and partner groups after coordination with the Foreign Ministry and the Iranian embassy. “PMI is always open and ready to contribute to humanitarian issues anywhere, as long as the goal is truly for humanity,” Kalla said. 

The World Health Organization says it has verified 23 attacks on healthcare in Iran and 106 in Lebanon, according to an April 8 statement by its regional director. “Hospitals are operating under intense strain, managing high volumes of trauma cases while trying to sustain essential care,” said Hanan Balkhy, WHO’s regional director. 

Earlier this month, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies warned that medical needs in Iran are “exponentially” rising as stocks of trauma kits risk depletion amid the ongoing conflict.

Maria Martinez, head of delegation in Iran, said in an interview with Reuters that more than 1,900 killed and 21,000 injured since February 28, citing the Iranian Red Crescent Society’s data.  Cecile Terraz, its supply chain director, said the agency had been “unable to import vital supplies from its Dubai warehouse for weeks” and that it now aims “to ship them overland from Turkey … but it will take weeks.”

A two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran, brokered by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, took effect on April 8, but is already under strain ahead of talks in Islamabad on April 10. 

Donald Trump agreed to halt strikes, while Tehran signaled willingness to negotiate, though both sides are divided on core issues including Iran’s nuclear programme and sanctions relief.