WHO emergency medical teams make an impact in Libya

With generous support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Health Organization (WHO) deployed 24 emergency medical teams (EMTs) to more than 30 health facilities in Libya in 2022. The teams provided 321 542 medical procedures, including 3906 surgical interventions.

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An EMT doctor at Qatroun village hospital in southern Libya examines a patient with high blood pressure. Credit: WHO Libya

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An EMT paediatrician at Qatroun village hospital gives advice to the mother of a 7-year-old girl who has presented with a high fever.

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An EMT gynaecologist conducts regular prenatal visits in Qatroun village hospital

“We monitor and advise pregnant women and, when necessary, we refer them for specialist care. Unfortunately, several patients have died while being transferred to other hospitals, so we always ensure that we stabilize them before they begin their journey.”

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“This patient’s injuries mean that he is in no condition to travel to the nearest referral hospital in Sebha. The desert roads between here and Sebha are rough and unpaved, and they could make his condition even worse. Therefore, we have to stabilize him before he travels,” says an EMT doctor treating a patient with life-threatening injuries.

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EMT doctors in Qatroun hospital’s emergency room treat a migrant who has been stung by a scorpion. Before 2022, dozens of people in the southern region died from scorpion stings. This number dropped to zero after WHO deployed EMTs to public hospitals in southern Libya.

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EMT doctors in Qatroun village hospital examine an injured patient. EMTs in the area cover several neighbouring villages as the nearest major hospital, Sebha Medical Centre, is 300 km away. For badly injured patients, this journey can be perilous.

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“Most people in the area are either internally displaced or they are migrants from neighbouring countries. Many of them struggle to obtain health care,” says an EMT doctor who examines an elderly patient in the clinic of an IDP camp in Sebha.

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Dr Abdulraouf Omran, an EMT doctor at Qatroun village hospital, says he is proud of his work helping some of the most vulnerable people in the region. "By providing health care services, we help save many people's lives.”

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An anaesthetist prepares a patient for surgery.

“Before we arrived here, major or even minor surgery was impossible in the south because there were no anaesthetists,” says Dr Abdullah Alansari, an anaesthetist working as part of an EMT in Sebha.

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“We operate the emergency room 24/7, and there are always at least one or two EMT team members on duty,'' says an EMT doctor.

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A WHO doctor carries out surgery at Sebha Medical Centre in south Libya

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“Over the course of 2022, WHO provided 24 emergency medical teams to the Libyan Ministry of Health to support health services for vulnerable populations in the southern region in Libya. Their emergency interventions have helped people in great need and saved many lives.” said Ms Elizabeth Hoff, WHO Representative in Libya.

For the past decade, prolonged conflict, fragmented governance, mismanagement, and insufficient funding have disrupted Libya’s already fragile and severely damaged health system. Even before further exacerbated by COVID-19, almost half of the primary health care centres are either partially or not functioning and require technical and financial support to fully operate and provide essential health services.

WHO remains committed to supporting and helping Libya rebuild its health system. Working across 22 districts in all Libya, WHO provides fully equipped health facilities and deploys emergency medical teams across the country.

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