DOHA: Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has undertaken a large-scale relief project to help the families displaced or affected by the armed conflict in Libya, with $10m (over QR36.37m) funding from Qatar Development Fund.
Amid deteriorating economic conditions across Libya, increasing numbers of internally displaced people (IDPs) and lack of food security threatening 1.4 million lives, QRCS launched a $2m scheme to distribute food aid to 19,500 neediest and most affected families (117,000 people) in several parts of the country over six months.
This intervention will help meet the food needs of those families, reduce malnutrition, especially among children, alleviate the psychological impact on vulnerable people like children and women, and lighten the economic burden on the Libyan families.
In cooperation with local partners, 8,000 food packages (one per family) were distributed to 48,000 people in cities and districts, including Misurata, Zawiya, Jufra, BaniWalid, Sabratha and Wadi Al Shatii. Another $3.5m scheme was initiated earlier this month to support the failing health sector severely affected by the armed conflict.
Many hospitals and health centres lack adequate staffing, medications and other supplies and are unable to receive the increasing numbers of patients, with 1.9 million people having no access to primary healthcare.
To bridge the gap, QRCS is working to secure medications, medical consumables and ambulances to improve primary healthcare services; raise health and personal hygiene awareness to reduce communicable diseases; and build capacity of local medical workers through technical training.
The first batch of six medical supply containers have reached the Port of Tripoli and will be distributed in the coming few days to the undersupplied hospitals, helping them serve about 20,000 families (120,000 people) in Ubari, Sabha, Murzuk, Jufra, Misurata, Tripoli, Zawiya, Sabratha,Zuwarah, Yafran and Al Makhzan.
Throughout this year, QRCS will continue to provide food and medical aid where it is badly needed and support Libyan families in other aspects like shelter, clean drinking water, health education and personal hygiene.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that there are 2.4 Libyans in need of help this year, which is double the 2015 figures.
A UN humanitarian appeals was launched to raise $166m to cover the humanitarian needs of Libyans across the board.
The Peninsula
