Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Nearly 24,000 women and girls in flood-affected areas of eastern Libya are in need of humanitarian assistance, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has said.
Some are pregnant and lack basic sexual and reproductive health services, it said in a statement issued on Thursday.
UNFPA added that one in ten of these women is expected to give birth next month.
The Fund said it had sent mobile medical teams to five primary health care facilities in Derna, the city worst hit by the floods with thousands dead and missing, as well as significant material damage, to complement the provision of maternal and child health services.
The UN agency noted that, through its implementing partner, Amazon Sat, it had deployed mobile psychosocial workers to visit women displaced by the crisis in Benghazi to provide mental health support.
The Executive Director of the UNFPA, Natalia Kanem, said that the Fund is mobilising its efforts to provide healthcare and life-saving supplies to women and girls in need, in order to bridge the gap in services and support.
The Fund emphasised that the devastating impact of storm Daniel on Derna is clearly reflected in the traces of destruction it left behind.
It stressed that what is less obvious, but no less important, are the mental scars left by the disaster, as the emotional and psychological wounds will take time to heal.
-0- PANA BY/JSG/BBA/MA 6Oct2023
