Brussels, Belgium , 25 March 2020 — With the first case of COVID-19 now confirmed in Libya, the IRC is warning that an outbreak of the disease could have a devastating impact on the country, where conflict continues to tear people’s lives apart.
Despite the disease having been declared a global pandemic, there is no sign of a ceasefire in sight and hostilities escalated dramatically in recent days. Just two days ago, four civilians were killed as the LNA renewed attacks in Tripoli after repeated calls from the international community to halt hostilities.
As a result of the ongoing conflict, Libya’s health system is severely challenged to meet the needs of all within Libya’s borders. 1.7 million people are already in extreme need of health assistance.
Tom Garofalo, Country Director for the IRC in Libya, said:
“Since April last year there have been 62 confirmed attacks on health facilities and almost one fifth of Libyan hospitals and primary health facilities are closed. Those that remain open suffer from a lack of specialised medical staff and a properly functioning medical supply chain. Only six per cent are able to offer a full range of services, meaning that the country is ill-prepared for an outbreak of the magnitude of COVID-19.
“Close to 150,000 people have been forced to flee their homes over the past 11 months, but in total almost 900,000 are in need of humanitarian assistance. In addition to Libyans who have been displaced from their homes, migrants and refugees are among the most vulnerable. Around 3,200 are being held in overcrowded detention centres, but the majority live in poor conditions in towns and cities where they are under the constant threat of robbery, abduction, detention and abuse. As a result, many live in the shadows and 80 per cent are unable to access health care. This means there is a huge barrier to some of the country’s most vulnerable people being aware of how to protect themselves from a disease that has already had such dire consequences in other countries.
“With essential equipment already in short supply around the globe, and with Libya’s health system already so fragile, the international community must not turn its back on Libya. Libyan public health officials are scrambling to prepare for the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, and have allocated USD 350 million to support the response. But with such vast vulnerability in the population, they risk being overwhelmed, perhaps worse than we’ve seen in other contexts. The IRC will do our best to support the Libyan response with training of front-line health workers and help with isolation facilities, but we urgently need a ceasefire so that humanitarian actors can adapt and scale-up their response further.”
It is critical that the EU and member states maintain diplomatic engagement to secure progress towards a ceasefire. The EU and all donors must also ensure flexible funding is provided to adequately support the struggling Libyan health system and to ensure the Covid response is rapidly scaled up and reaches those most in need.
The IRC in Libya
Since August 2016, the IRC has provided emergency and reproductive health services in western Libya. The IRC is one of the few international organizations with a direct presence in Libya with two offices in Tripoli and Misrata. As Libya continues to endure political instability and widespread violence, the IRC is focused on: providing critical healthcare in hard to reach places in western Libya, providing life-saving medicines to primary health clinics, where possible, providing a referral pathway for patients in urgent need, renovating primary health clinics which have been damaged during the civil war, deploying experienced social workers to provide case management and psychosocial support in communities impacted by the conflict.