Libya Blocks Urgently Needed Doctors and Medical Supplies

Travel by road to Libya's capitol, Tripoli, where medical needs are estimated to be immense, is said to be almost impossible, due to insecurity.

Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (Arabic: معمر القذافي Photo courtesy: ickmychip.com

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams with medical supplies, including necessary surgical materials, remain blocked from entering the country.

Since the onset of violent clashes in Libya on the 17th of February, MSF has been trying to position emergency personnel and supplies into the country by any means possible, including by land and air. Despite the urgent need for medical assistance in Libya, a team carrying medical supplies, has been blocked for two days at the Tunisian border. Another team had reached Tripoli by airplane but was denied entry into the country and had to turn back.

“All information we receive points towards a critical situation in terms of medical care for the injured,” said Arjan Hehenkamp, MSF’s director of operations. “We need to be working alongside Libyan health professionals to care for people who have been caught in the violent clashes over recent days. It is unacceptable that medical staff and supplies are kept away from people who need them.”

A six-person MSF team managed to cross from Egypt into Libya yesterday, with a truckload of medical supplies; attempting to reach areas where health facilities have reported many wounded and severe supply shortages, including the city of Benghazi, where the team arrived today. Travel by road to the capitol, Tripoli, where medical needs are estimated to be immense, is said to be almost impossible, due to insecurity.

“Absolute priority must now be given to doctors and medical supplies, in order to provide urgently needed medical care and help to existing health facilities struggling to cope with the influx of wounded people,” said Hehenkamp.

As a medical humanitarian organization, MSF insists the integrity of medical structures, patients and medical staff needs to be respected as they continue to work on sending supplies and staff to Libya. A second truck with medical supplies, including surgical materials, is now on its way to the Egyptian-Libyan border.

Source: Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières