ICRC: Protracted Crises Could Lead to Collapse of Health Systems
As hundreds of experts convened this week in Beirut to discuss conflict medicine at the Middle East Medical Assembly, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned of the long-term consequences that protracted crises might have on health systems.
“Hospitals and health care centers pay a hefty price during conflicts and protracted crises could lead to the total collapse of health systems,” said Fabrizzio Carboni, the head of the ICRC delegation in Lebanon.
Hospitals in Syria and Yemen have been forced to shut down due to the shortage of water, electricity, and the lack of necessary equipment and medical supplies. Doctors and nurses are also fleeing conflict-stricken cities and villages for safer areas, leaving behind hospitals without staff and patients without care.
Protracted crises have led as well to the re-emergence of diseases that were eradicated long time ago because of the difficulty of carrying out vaccination campaigns and the lack of access to vaccinations.
“Moreover, violence has directly or indirectly targeted hospitals and medical practitioners, as well as humanitarian workers. The ICRC has repeatedly called for the protection of medical facilities, staff, and ambulances; they are not part of the conflict and must be allowed to do their job,” the ICRC said in a statement.
“We are very concerned by the fact that people affected by conflict and armed violence cannot receive the lifesaving treatment and the health care they need. Health should not be used as a weapon,” stated Carboni.
Hosted and organized by the American University of Beirut and its Medical Center, this year’s Middle East Medical Assembly (MEMA) was held in partnership with the ICRC who has more than 40 years of experience in war surgery. The first global conflict medicine congress addressed the pathological, psychological and social consequences of conflicts on health.
“The nature of conflicts and the expectations of people we serve have changed and became more complex, and hence, the response to health needs can no longer stop at the emergency intervention and the treatment of the visible wound. We have to think of a long-term and a comprehensive approach that includes reconstructive treatment, physical rehabilitation, and psychological support as well as the treatment of chronic diseases,” said Carboni.
The ICRC in Lebanon has “scaled up its presence to better respond to the consequences of regional turmoil since the onset of the Syrian crisis in 2011, and health has been at the core of its activities,” the ICRC statement said.
“The organization supports primary health care centers across the country, carries out vaccination campaigns and provides physical rehabilitation treatment and psychosocial support to refugees and host communities. The ICRC also supports two hospitals in Tripoli and Beirut through which it provides comprehensive surgical treatment to weapon wounded patients from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen,” it added.
Source: Naharnet
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