The Italian government has agreed to allocate a financial grant of 400,000 euros to support programs to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in southern Libya. This is according to the Deputy Head of the Italian Embassy, Walter Di Martino.
During his visit to Libya’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Di Martino pointed out that Italy has coordinated with an international humanitarian organisation to cooperate with local health authorities, including the National Centre for Epidemiology in Libya.
Di Martino met with the the NCDC’s Director, Dr. Badr Al-Din Al-Najjar. The two discussed ways to provide southern Libya, with the necessary supplies to confront the epidemic.
They also discussed the local epidemiological situation, and the efforts made to contain the spread of the virus. Di Martino promised to supply Libya with a shipment of medical masks, as part of the in-kind assistance granted by the Italian government.
Libya has more than 30,000 confirmed cases, and 2,000 successful recoveries. Figures have climbed quickly from a few hundred last month, to tens of thousands at this time.
Stephanie Williams, the acting UN envoy, has told the Security Council that the real number of cases in Libya is almost certainly far higher, and that the health system is “unable to respond”. UNHCR has said it is working with the UN World Food Programme (WFP), on expanding their support for food-insecure refugees and asylum seekers in Libya.