UNICEF provides emergency supplies to treat children injured in Central African Republic fighting
UNICEF has distributed emergency medical supplies to hospitals in Bangui following clashes in recent days that have left hundreds dead and thousands more displaced.
“Every day, we are seeing more and more children injured and killed at the hospital,” said UNICEF Central African Republic Representative Souleymane Diabate. “Children in the Central African Republic, both Muslim and Christians, are not safe. They are in danger of being injured or killed in their homes, in their communities, and even at displacement sites. This is totally unacceptable.”
As of Monday morning, the local Red Cross had reported close to 400 people killed, including three children, since last Thursday. Preliminary reports collated by UNICEF have identified about 30 children with bullet or machete wounds at the Community Hospital and Paediatric Centre in Bangui.
On Saturday, two days after clashes broke out in Bangui, UNICEF provided essential medical supplies sufficient for 3,000 people to the Community Hospital, where most injured people are being treated.
On Sunday, UNICEF teams distributed emergency health supplies sufficient for 1,000 children to the Bangui Pediatric Centre, the only children’s hospital in the country, where many child victims have been admitted. Clothing has also been provided child survivors, and rooms at have been equipped with electric fans with UNICEF support.
“It’s the first time that something like this happened to me, to us”, said Kelley, 17, who is being treated at the hospital for a gun shot to the chest, sustained while he was walking to school last Thursday. “I’m worried for my family, my friends, and my country.”
Wherever security and access permit in Bangui and elsewhere in the country, UNICEF and its humanitarian partners are scaling up activities to provide violence-affected families with emergency assistance.
A UNICEF humanitarian cargo flight with emergency health kits, nutrition supplies and other life-saving items for 3,000 families is expected to arrive in Bangui in the next few days.
Source: United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund
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