Under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed recently with the World Food Programme (WFP), Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) has received an in-kind grant including 2.17 ton medical and food items used to control malnutrition, as well as the costs of moving the assistance to the target region, as part of the relief efforts for the Malian refugees who fled to Niger due to political and military events in northern Mali.
The grant consists of 1,27 ton nutritional items and 0.13 ton natural oils for pregnant and breastfeeding women, 0.77 ton dietary supplements for malnourished children, and 1000 euros to cover the moving and storage costs.
One Hundred and sixty-six children, mothers, and pregnant women in Tibareybarey Refugee Camp, Tillabéri Region, are expected to receive daily rations of these items for six months.
QRC is assigned to store and manage the received items, examine the mothers and children for malnutrition cases, follow up with these cases through its camp medical center, and report on the food conditions at the camp.
This grant was given to QRC upon the recommendation of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which has several common relief projects with QRC for the Malian refugees in Niger. This reflects the trust of UN agencies in the professionalism of QRC staff working there.
QRC and UNHCR have already four agreements in effect, under which QRC operates three health centers that provide primary health care inside refugee camps, as well as ambulance services to move serious cases to national hospitals or medical facilities. There are more than 100 well-trained QRC medical and administrative staff. Thanks to the effective relief intervention by these teams, UNHCR chose QRC to be the organization responsible for its health projects.
QRC's West/Central Africa Office coordinates closely with the Nigerien authorities to provide administrative facilities and secure the camps.
Every day, QRC's health care workers cover diseased and particularly critical cases, notably pediatric surgeries such as bladder stone removal, Caesarean sections that saved the lives of hundreds of women with the available ambulance vehicles and medical workers, discovery and treatment of several tuberculosis cases, and distribution of medicines to chronic patients.
These medical teams serve more than 30,000 Malians at refugee camps, as well as over 74,000 people of adjacent local communities.
