The Director of the Tripoli Eye Hospital and the Head of the Corneal Transplant Authority, Rania Al-Khouja confirmed that 300 corneal transplants have been performed so far, “between full corneal transplantation and stratified corneal transplantation in the cities of Tripoli and Benghazi.”
In a press statement, Al-Khouja said that “today we started performing corneal transplants at the Tobruk Medical Center, and our visit will continue until Friday.”
She pointed out that “the number of surgeries targeted in Tobruk are 20, and cases are chosen according to importance, and priority is usually given to young people, and those with one eye. In the coming period, we will have visits to the central and southern regions.”
Doctors at the Benghazi Medical Center performed more than 14,000 surgeries during 2021, and registered about 15,000 births.
According to a statement by the center, more than one million tests were conducted, with more than 50,000 entry case files opened.
The four Benghazi hospitals employ 6,000 medical and paramedical personnel. The Center covers a large geographical area extending from Al-Marj to Ajdabiya, and includes Al-Kufra.
In this area, no internal services are available, meaning women, childbirth, oncology, blood diseases, and communicable, infectious and dermatological diseases have to be treated in the center.
Libya has been in chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The county has for years been split between rival administrations, each backed by rogue militias and foreign governments.
The current stalemate grew out of the failure to hold elections in December, and the refusal of Prime Minister Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba, who is leading the transitional government, to step down. In response, the country’s eastern-based Parliament appointed a rival Prime Minister, Fathi Bashagha, who has for months sought to install his government in Tripoli.