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International Medical Corps Providing Critically Needed Care and Supplies to 25,000
People Displaced from Ajdabiya, Eastern Libya
For interviews in Libya, contact:
Laurence Holmes
Communications Officer
0207 553 4064
lholmes@InternationalMedicalCorps.org.uk
March 24, 2011, London – International Medical Corps’ emergency response team in Eastern Libya is
distributing critically needed humanitarian supplies to approximately 25,000 displaced persons who have
fled heavy fighting in Ajdabiya. The displaced are gathering in Al Butwen, a small town 35km east of
Ajdabiya, with more still arriving.
The only health clinic in Al Butwen has a serious shortage of medical supplies, water and no electricity.
International Medical Corps plans to distribute an emergency health kit – which serves a population of
30,000 for one month – as well as a doctor and two nurses to support the clinic.
Today International Medical Corps is assessing the surrounding areas to ascertain if other settlements are
being established and will operate mobile clinics for other settlements as necessary.
International Medial Corps’ East Libya Team Leader Chris Skopec has been speaking to some of the displaced
families. “The people of Al Butwen have been unbelievably hospitable to those arriving from Ajdabiya ‐ most
homes are currently occupied by 4‐7 families. If the fighting stops they want to return to their homes, but
I’ve already spoken to two families whose homes in Ajdabiya have been destroyed,” he said.
International Medical Corps' emergency response teams in Libya and at the borders in Tunisia and Egypt are
assessing ongoing needs, providing medical care and critical supplies.
Through a $1 million grant from USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), International Medical
Corps is addressing immediate health care gaps in Libya. Teams are also assisting in establishing a unified
mechanism for reporting needed medical supplies and coordinating donated items. In addition,
International Medical Corps has been working to preposition essential medical supplies (such as surgical
instrument sets and basic health care equipment) and non‐food items (including hygiene kits, blankets, and
water containers) donated through gift‐in‐kind partners MAP International and AmeriCares.
Clashes between protestors and government loyalists began last month and intensified February 25 in and
around Tripoli. The number of those killed in Libya is thought to be in the thousands, while Internet has
been cut off and many foreign journalists are not allowed to enter the country.
For more than 25 years, International Medical Corps has responded to the needs of those displaced by
conflict, such as the 1994 Rwandan genocide and 1998 ethnic cleansing and conflict in Kosovo.
International Medical Corps is currently working inside Iraq and throughout Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon
to support displaced Iraqis, and assists refugees from Darfur on the Sudan/Chad border. In Pakistan,
International Medical Corps is supporting the millions displaced by conflict and the recent flooding. For
more information visit: www.InternationalMedicalCorps.org.uk, or see us on Facebook and follow us on
Twitter.
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