More than 50,000 people in Libya benefitted from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medical services last year, including in the cities of Tripoli, Misrata, Zawiya, Zuwara, Bin Walid, Nesma, Zletan, and Khoms, a press statement The Libya Observer received from the organization on Thursday said.
Since the 2011 uprising in Libya, MSF said it supported public health care centres, hospitals, and migration centres, and reached out to people needing medical and psychological support regardless of which country they are from or what their political affiliations are, emphasizing that its focus remains on those in the most severe and immediate danger.
“It is fundamental to our humanitarian organisation to always act in the best interest of patients, also respect their confidentiality, their right to make their own decisions and do them no harm," Says Gabriele Ganci, MSF Head of Mission in Libya.
In its statement, the MSF listed the services provided by its members, including primary health care, mental health support, sexual and reproductive health consultations, and protection services, noting that its teams worked in health facilities, detention centres, and urban settings to Libyans and non-Libyans.
"To ensure access to medical care, we also sometimes provide social support to help people reach their basic needs. This ensures that we provide quality medical services to Libyans and non-Libyans," Ganci added.
The organisation said it also supported more than 6500 consultations in the National Centre for Diseases Control (NCDC) TB clinic and at the National Tuberculosis Programme’s (NTP) Outpatient Department (OPD) in Misrata and Tripoli.