By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 13 December 2013:
In the light of continuing violence in Libya, 120 doctors from all over the country . . .[restrict]have just completed a two-day seminar in Benghazi focusing on the treatment of wounds caused by mines, bullets, shrapnel and other weapons.
“Topics have included trauma surgery, weapon wounds, first aid, mass casualty situations and the rights and obligations of medical personnel,” said Brigitte Noel, the ICRC health delegate in Tripoli.
This is the sixth time that the ICRC, working with the Libyan Red Crescent Society and the Ministry of Health, has organised such a specialised seminar.
“Recent violence in Tripoli, Benghazi and other cities shows the need for this kind of training,” explained Katharina Ritz, head of the ICRC in Libya. “Such events enable surgeons to provide better treatment for people with weapon wounds.”
Ritz said that these seminars gave the chance for leading Libyan surgeons to exchange experiences and best practice with ICRC specialists. Among the challenges they discussed was the treatment of casualties of armed conflict or violence, often with limited resources.
Noel said that over the last 150 years, the ICRC had acquired considerable expertise in caring for victims of armed conflict under difficult conditions, particularly where the health system had been severely disrupted.
“In Libya, “ she said, “the ICRC is visiting detainees, tracing missing persons, working with the Libyan Red Crescent Society to help people injured or displaced by violence and training their volunteers on the dangers of explosive remnants of war. It is also stimulating compliance with International Humanitarian Law and universal humanitarian principles, by promoting these rules with the Libyan authorities and providing expertise on their teaching and integration to the Libyan army and security forces”.
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