The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called on the authorities to ensure the facilitation of the delivery of humanitarian aid while maintaining preventive measures such as physical distance, otherwise people who depend on that aid will face great suffering.
In a statement issued, today, Sunday, the Committee expressed its fear of the multiplication of the suffering of families affected by the conflict in Libya as a result of Covid-19, pointing out that “hundreds of thousands of Libyans are caught in a heated conflict, while the risk of the virus outbreak appears before them, threatening to weaken the country’s fragile health system”.
The Head of operations of ICRC in Libya, William De Jong, said that “The Libyan healthcare system was already suffering before the Covid-19 pandemic,” adding that “Some of the specialized doctors who need to obtain training on protocols to prevent the spread of virus are called back to the front lines to treat the infected cases.”
De Jong also added that the clinics and hospitals “are busy caring for war-wounded patients and those with chronic diseases, so their ability to receive those infected with the Covid-19 virus is limited,’ indicating that they need more support and supplies to face this challenge.