No fewer than 80 medical personnel’s attended a three-day surgical seminar organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health.
ICRC made the disclosure in a statement signed by Ms Eleojo Akpa, its Media Officer and made available to newsmen on Friday in Abuja.
The statement said that ICRC, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, organised the seminar to improve the skills needed by the personnel to respond to traumatic injuries.
Akpa quoted Karl Mattli, ICRC’s Head of Delegation in Nigeria as saying that medical care is one of the most important needs in the North-East apart from food and shelter.
“It is quite obvious that one of the most basic needs in the North-East right now is access to adequate medical care, apart from food and shelter,
“Since its inception in 2012, nearly 400 Nigerian medical practitioners have attended the surgical seminar.
“Presently in its seventh year, the seminar has provided doctors and nurses additional skills to treat patients wounded by weapons and those in need of an amputation,’’ Mattli said.
The statement quoted Mr Padshah Hashemi, ICRC Health Coordinator in Nigeria, as saying that two surgical teams from ICRC work on the field to support Nigerian patients and medical personnel.
“Our surgical teams working outside the State Specialist Hospital in Maiduguri have operated on 1,500 weapon-wounded patients this year,’’ Hashemi added.
Akpa said ICRC supported 16 state primary health care centres and eight mobile clinics which provided primary health care services to internally displaced persons, returnees and residents in North-East.
She said between the month of January and August, no fewer than 309,000 patients attended the clinics.
“Between January and end of August the clinics delivered 10,500 babies in the same period.
“8,650 children under age five who suffered from severe acute malnutrition also received treatment in South Borno state.
The ICRC is a Non-Governmental Organisation established to protect and assist persons affected by armed conflict and other situations of violence.
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