The World Health Organization (WHO) released 10 trucks loaded with emergency medical supplies and trauma kits to reach 10 major hospitals in different districts of Libya on March 23, providing emergency departments with desperately needed materials to treat diseases and injuries.
The shipments were supported by European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).
General Hospitals in Tobruk, Derna, Benghazi, Sirt, Jabal Al Akhdar, Al bayda, Sabha, Murzuq, Ghat and Ubari received a total of 130 Interagency Health Emergency Kits (IHEK) and 40 trauma kits as a first consignment.
The emergency supplies can treat up to 1,300,000 patients for a period of three months, while the trauma kits can enhance the readiness of the same hospitals to treat up to 2,000 injuries.
"ECHO funding has enabled us to upgrade the capacities of major hospitals in war-torn areas to respond to major crises and strengthen their readiness," says Dr. Syed Jaffar Hussain, WHO representative for Libya. "The 10 hospitals are the ones that are still standing, the ones that are treating large numbers of both Libyans and migrants hurt by the conflict or suffering from diseases."
In addition, support from Germany has enabled WHO to deploy Rapid Response Teams (RRT) to 15 hospitals, while Italy has funded stocks of contingency supplies.
WHO activated two satellite logistics hubs in Sabha and Benghazi and pre-positioned 40 IHEK kits and 5 cholera kits for future use. The two hubs will be supplied with supplementary stocks.
"Thanks to the generosity of the Government of Italy, the contingency stocks will make it faster to respond to all eventualities more rapidly. The establishment of the two logistics hubs in the east and south of Libya is part of the strategic vision of WHO to expand the health emergency response," says Dr. Hussain.
"In addition, we are grateful for the support of the Government of Germany that is currently supporting our hospital-based Rapid Response Teams to minimize disease outbreaks."
(Source: ReliefWeb)
