Libyan health system is “absolutely stretched,” says UN

Libya’s health system is struggling to cope as shortages of drugs, vaccines, and medical supplies hamper efforts to provide essential services and treat large numbers of casualties, a top UN official has warned.

Panos Moumtzis, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Libya, told the BMJ in an exclusive interview: “In terms of medical needs, they are absolutely being stretched.”

He said although the international community had sent in surgeons and medical teams a “significant” number of doctors and nurses had left the country.

Mr Moumtzis said the ministers of health—both in (opposition controlled) Benghazi and in Tripoli—had voiced their concerns about low stocks of vaccines and drugs for chronic diseases and for HIV.

He said the World Health Organization …