The Director General of Libya’s National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Haider Al-Sayeh warned of the spread of glaucoma in the south of the country.
Al-Sayeh said that 11.18% of the 1,816 cases that were subjected to a medical survey in the southern region had glaucoma. The medical survey was conducted in the cities of Ghat, Ubari, Bint Bayyah, Al-Barakat, and Al-Kufra.
“Glaucoma is the second cause of blindness in Libya, and 32 medical interventions have been carried out in cooperation with the National Committee for Combating Blindness.”
The healthcare system in Libya has deteriorated more than a decade after the country’s civil war. Many Libyans are being treated abroad, due to the severe shortage of facilities in local hospitals.
Residents of the southern region complain of being “marginalized” by the government.
Members of the Manasla tribe in the city of Bani Walid, southeast of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, held a protest, calling on the Government of National Unity (GNU) to “improve living conditions and provide them with basic services.”
The protesters demanded that wells be dug in their remote area, due to the lack of potable water. They also called on the government, led by Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba, to complete the paving of roads. The protesters denounced the GNU’s “marginalisation” of their locality, which has a population of over 7,000 people.
They also called on the government to convert the health center into a hospital, complete the construction of schools in their area, and establish a passport office branch “to alleviate the suffering of citizens.”
Last month, the Municipality of Gharyan, northwest of the country, announced the suspension of studies in all public and private schools. This came as a result of the wide spread of the respiratory syncytial virus, especially in educational institutions, according to the Libyan News Agency (LANA).