Head of the Presidency Council (PC) Faiez al-Sarraj held a meeting on Monday with Interior Minister Fathy Bashagha to discuss securing field hospitals amid the ongoing offensive on Tripoli.
It was also attended by Deputy Minister of Health Mohamed Haitham and director of the Field Medicine Center, Tarek al-Hamshari.
The meeting, held at the PC headquarters in Tripoli, addressed securing the sites of field hospitals and protecting the medical staff working there as well as providing their needs of medicine and medical equipment.
They also touched on treatment abroad and the possible mechanisms to provide treatment for the locals in a quick and professional manner.
Since early April, medical facilities and ambulances in the Libyan capital have been subjected to shelling as the east-based Libyan National Army (LNA) aims to seize control of the city.
The clashes caused the death of over 1,000 people and inflicted injuries on hundreds of people, including civilians, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on July 9.
Hospitals in Libya are suffering from a shortage of medical supplies as they see an increase in patients. Libya’s medical professionals have been struggling to help patients in need due to a lack of supplies.
Many Libyan health care providers fled the country after the collapse of the Qaddafi regime in 2011, crippling a health care system that still largely relies on foreign aid.
According to the WHO, Libyan hospitals are in need of roughly 5,000 nurses, 3,500 specialists and 400 midwives.
Moreover, the ongoing fighting in Tripoli continues to prevent medical supply shipments from reaching parts of the city.
Under the International humanitarian law, conflicting parties must respect medical units, civil establishments, transports, and hospital zones.
