GENEVA / LIBYA HEALTHCARE

As Libya’s yearlong peace talks aimed at establishing a unity government stall again, the lives of millions of people needing urgent healthcare linger in the balance. WHO and health partners require a total of US$50 million in 2016 to meet the urgent life-saving nearly two million people. WHO

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:06
• Production Date: 27 January 2016
• Asset Language: English
• Corporate Name: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION - WHO
• Subject Topical: HEALTH CARE
• Geographic Subject: LIBYA
• MAMS Id: 1553920
• Parent Id: 1553920
• Alternate Title: unifeed160127f

Description

STORY: GENEVA / LIBYA HEALTHCARE
TRT: 02:06
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 27 Jan 2016, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / FILE

Shotlist

1. Med shot, Dr. Syed Jaffar Hussain, WHO Representative for Libya, talking to interviewer
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Syed Jaffar Hussain, WHO Representative for Libya:
“We have acute shortages of life saving medicines, all across Libya, it’s not one particular place, hospitals, clinics, everywhere. We have more than 40 percent health facilities being closed down, dysfunctional for various reasons. They are either in a conflict zone, or there are no human resources, or there are no electricity even to run the hospital.”
3. Tilt down, Hussain talking to interviewer
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Syed Jaffar Hussain, WHO Representative for Libya:
“Maternal and child health is the biggest need, a health system where every mother goes to deliver in hospital setting before the conflict, now we have reports that mothers are delivering mostly at homes, without being attended by a trained birth attendant.”
5. Close up, Hussain pointing to WHO report
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Syed Jaffar Hussain, WHO Representative for Libya:
“It’s a health system which will require a lot of time, if not many years or decades, at least more than a year, to get back to some optimum level of capacity to provide the basic and essential care to the people of Libya.”
7. Close up, Hussain flipping through pages of the report
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Syed Jaffar Hussain, WHO Representative for Libya:
“Can we afford to wait for the political decision making to materialize and then we embark on humanitarian response? Can a patient with insulin dependent diabetes wait for a new Prime Minister to come and reform the health system so that she can receive insulin? Can we wait for that? Absolutely not. Because there may be people dying on a daily basis because they do not have access to life saving medicine and health care.”
9. Close up, Hussain pointing to WHO report

Storyline

As Libya’s yearlong peace talks aimed at establishing a unity government stall again, the lives of millions of people needing urgent healthcare linger in the balance. WHO and health partners require a total of US$50 million in 2016 to meet the urgent life-saving nearly two million people.

During an interview in Geneva, Dr. Syed Jaffar Hussain, WHO Representative for Libya, said “we have acute shortages of life saving medicines, all across Libya, it’s not one particular place, hospitals, clinics, everywhere. We have more than 40 percent health facilities being closed down, dysfunctional for various reasons. They are either in a conflict zone, or there are no human resources, or there are no electricity even to run the hospital.”

Since the escalation of the conflict in July 2014, violence and instability have spread to almost every part of the country, with more than three million people – nearly half of the total population –affected. Almost two and a half million people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, of which 1.9 million people have serious, unmet health needs.

Hussain said “maternal and child health is the biggest need, a health system where every mother goes to deliver in hospital setting before the conflict, now we have reports that mothers are delivering mostly at homes, without being attended by a trained birth attendant.”
Even bleaker, as the security situation deteriorates due to fighting, health personnel have fled the country. More than 80 percent of all nursing staff were evacuated in 2014. Attacks on health care workers also continue, with five health workers killed and more than 20 health facilities damaged in the past 18 months alone.

Hussain said “it’s a health system which will require a lot of time, if not many years or decades, at least more than a year, to get back to some optimum level of capacity to provide the basic and essential care to the people of Libya.”

In addition to staff shortages, hospitals, laboratories, blood banks and other health facilities are increasingly unable to remain functional as they face shortages in medicines and other health supplies.

Hussain said “can we afford to wait for the political decision making to materialize and then we embark on humanitarian response? Can a patient with insulin dependent diabetes wait for a new Prime Minister to come and reform the health system so that she can receive insulin? Can we wait for that? Absolutely not. Because there may be people dying on a daily basis because they do not have access to life saving medicine and health care.”

For 2016, WHO and health partners require US$50 to respond to the needs of 1.2 million people in Libya. This funding will be used to strengthen the health system in four key areas.