2023-10-16 01:21:54
The World Health Organization accelerated the delivery of urgent medical supplies to Lebanon on Sunday, attributing this to “preparedness to respond to any potential health crisis,” against the backdrop of the escalation in border clashes between Hezbollah fighters and Israel.
Earlier on Sunday, the United Nations Interim Force operating in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) announced that its general headquarters in Naqoura was hit by a missile, and it was working to verify its source, while an exchange of fire was recorded during the daylight hours between Hezbollah and the Israeli army.
What did the WHO supplies include?
The World Health Organization revealed in a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Sky News Arabia, that two shipments arrived in Beirut on Sunday from the organization’s logistics center in Dubai, and include enough medicines, surgical supplies and trauma supplies to meet the needs of between 800 and 1,000 sick and injured people. .
The organization indicated that the Lebanese Ministry of Health is currently working on identifying the hospitals that will receive these vital supplies.
The organization’s statement added: “The health system in Lebanon has been hit by a crisis as a result of the economic crisis, as there has become an acute shortage of specialized doctors, health workers, medicines, and medical equipment.”
The World Health Organization considered that if border clashes escalate between Israel and forces in southern Lebanon, more civilians will be exposed to danger and will need immediate access to life-saving medical care.
The organization’s statement continued, saying: “We are working with the Ministry of Health and health partners in Lebanon to enhance preparedness and readiness within the health system to respond to potential increases in infections due to escalation of violence. We support the Lebanese Ministry of Health in activating the Health Emergency Operations Center to facilitate improved coordination of responses to emergency situations at all levels.”
The organization stated, “In addition to prioritizing injury management, great attention will be directed toward ensuring the uninterrupted provision of basic health care services and providing psychological and social support.”
The statement concluded by saying: “The World Health Organization reiterates its call for the protection of civilians and health workers and, ultimately, an end to hostilities and violence.”
Humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza
The World Health Organization’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Ahmed Al-Mandhari, described the current situation in Gaza as “extremely difficult,” while the successive escalation heralds a “certain humanitarian catastrophe.”
In an interview with Sky News Arabia, Al-Mandhari pointed out that the wounded and dead are in the thousands, and the numbers of those displaced from their homes are countless, at a time when basic supplies of food, water, fuel, and medicines are about to run out.
The Regional Director of World Health criticized the prevention of humanitarian aid from entering the Gaza Strip, saying that every hour that these supplies remain on the Egyptian side of the border, without opening the crossing from the Israeli side, more people die, especially the groups most vulnerable to risks and those most affected by them, while the supplies What might save them is available less than 20 kilometers away.
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