MOGADISHU: Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, said on Monday it has been forced to withdraw its services from a health facility in a disputed city in Somalia’s Somaliland region due to increased security incidents, reported Xinhua.
The MSF, an international medical charity, said increased volatility and repeated security incidents, which have impacted the safe delivery of medical care in Las Anod, have reached a threshold where it is no longer able to provide medical care at Las Anod General Hospital.
“We regret we are forced to stop our medical support, knowing that this will have an impact on people’s access to vital medical care – which has already been compromised by the ongoing conflict,” said Dana Krause, MSF country representative, in a statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.
“But we need to be able to work in an environment where the minimum standards of safety are ensured for patients and healthcare workers.”
The charity said the protection and safety of patients, their caretakers, and health workers is no longer guaranteed.
In the latest incident on July 8, Las Anod General Hospital was hit during the fighting, causing injuries among medical staff and caretakers.
The MSF said the incident, which also damaged an ambulance and forced the closure of the hospital’s maternity ward, was the fifth incident since the escalation of violence on Feb 6.
Previous bouts of violence in Las Anod have claimed the lives of health workers and volunteers supporting the medical response to the wounded in the conflict, the charity said.
“While our support to medical services in Las Anod comes to an end, we will remain present in the Sool region by maintaining basic and specialised healthcare activities in Kalabaydh, nearly 40 km south of Las Anod. This is where people who had been displaced by the current conflict have been seeking healthcare,” the MSF said.
On July 13, the World Health Organisation condemned the attack on the health facility where dozens of people were killed and injured, including healthcare workers and patients. – BERNAMA-XINHUA
