By Ajnadin Mustafa.
Tripoli, 20 June 2016:
Bani Walid hospital has run out of medical supplies and may be forced to close, its director has warned.
According to Mohamed Mabrouk Zubrah, the hospital has used up all its medical provisions, and its emergency store is now running dangerously low and will be exhausted in the next few days.
The hospital had already laid off 80 percent of its staff because of the shortages, he explained, and it was only a matter of time before work stopped altogether.
He had been in touch with the health ministry about the crisis but had had no reply, he said.
At the same time, he stressed, the hospital which had not received its budget for 2016 was having to serve so many people who had fled from Sirte, Benghazi and the Wadi Zazam area. Last year, he pointed out that it had performed over a thousand operations.
He appealed to the authorities as well as to the individuals and businesses in Bani Walid for help, asking them to provide supplies so that the hospital could continue to function.
While Bani Walid suffers, the situation at the central hospital in Gharyan which was also suffering acute shortages has been turned around with the delivery of supplies two days ago. According to Gharyan municipal council, the supplies were obtained as a result of intensive efforts by itself and the local relief committee.
Whether the Bani Walid authorities can do the same is open to question. The town has long been viewed with barely disguised hostility by Misrata – and at present in Tripoli, what Misrata thinks is seen as counting for a great deal.
