Friday July 10, 2020
Djiboutian soldiers serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) offload an assortment of medical supplies donated to Beletweyne General Hospital in HirShabelle state of Somalia to benefit local communities on 9 July 2020. AMISOM Photo
Beletweyne —The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) on Thursday delivered an assortment of medical supplies to Beletweyne Hospital, to benefit local communities and boost medical services at the facility.
The supplies, which included cartons of chloroquine phosphate, amoxicillin and vitamins for malnourished children were handed over to Hiran Local Administration officials by AMISOM’s Djiboutian contingent at a function held at Beletweyne General Hospital, in Hirshabelle State.
AMISOM Sector 4 Public Information Officer, Lt. Ibrahim Yusuf Ahmed explained that the donation is intended to benefit the local communities who are presently not able to access AMISOM bases for medical assistance following the lockdown of AMISOM bases, including the one in Beletweyne, as part of wider measures aimed at stemming the spread the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As you know the civilians were not able to access the camp for treatment due to COVID-19 lockdown therefore under the direction of the AMISOM Sector 4 Commander, Col. Rayale, we decided to hand over the supplies to the Hiran Administration. The donated medical supplies include Chloroquine phosphate to treat malaria, Amoxicillin and vitamin products for children,” said Lt. Ibrahim.
Lt. Ibrahim noted that more supplies will be availed to the hospital in future to cater for the needs of local residents, many of whom were affected by recurrent floods that hit the area.
“This is not the end of the medical supplies. We are waiting for another consignment and orders from the Head of Mission. We will continue providing support to the local population especially women and children through the local administration in Beletweyne,” Lt. Ibrahim stated.
The Deputy Governor of Hiran region in charge of Social Affairs, Hussein Osman Ali commended AMISOM troops for their solidarity, noting that the donation was timely.
“We handed over the medical supplies we received from AMISOM to Mr. Ahmed Khalif, the Coordinator of the Ministry of Health in Hiran region. The donation arrived at a time of need, especially when there are several reported cases of malaria due to the flooding of River Shabelle. It is evident that our AMISOM brothers closely monitor the needs of the community,” Mr. Hussein said.
On his part, the Director of Beletweyne General Hospital, Dr. Suleyman Abdi Ali thanked AMISOM for the donation of the drugs, adding that the donation will help the facility, which has lately been overwhelmed with cases of waterborne diseases, cope with cases.
“We appreciate the timely donation because it was supplied at a time we needed it most due to the outbreak of waterborne diseases as a result of the recent floods. The hospital receives an overwhelming number of patients due to the outbreak of diseases and I believe that this donation will help alleviate the situation,” Dr. Suleyman explained.