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GUINEA: Humanitarian update
Photo: Nancy Palus/IRIN  | | Health centre in the Gbessia Port area of Conakry (file photo) UN agencies and NGOs are assisting the state health sector in the aftermath of the 28 September violence |
DAKAR, 12 November 2009 (IRIN) - Six weeks after the deadly military crackdown on civilians in Guinea, families are still searching for loved ones, the wounded continue to need medical care and aid agencies are assisting state health workers cope with the aftermath, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Guinea.
The UN on 9 November approved $416,056 from its Central Emergency Response Fund for a UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) project to restore medical supplies, stock public hospitals, help treat people wounded in the 28 September violence and address nutritional and water and sanitation needs.
Following the December coup d'état many donors reduced or suspended development assistance, including some for the health sector. Philippe Verstraeten, head of OCHA-Guinea, told IRIN: “It is critical that the UN and aid agencies continue to help Guinea deal with the fallout of 28 September as well as stave off further humanitarian crises, as the situation remains volatile.”
The latest (2-9 November) OCHA bulletin says:
• The Red Cross continues to receive calls from families seeking relatives. “For the moment, access to Camp Alpha Yaya [Diallo / the main military camp and the junta’s headquarters] and to the detention centre at Kassa Island has not been permitted.”
• Hospitals have reported cases of secondary infections in some victims who had hesitated to seek medical care after 28 September for fear of reprisals by the army
• Protection experts say at least 225 victims of the 28 September violence remain seriously traumatized, 45 of whom victims of sexual violence
• Among the remaining protection needs are identification of rape victims, referrals and medical and psycho-social care
• The UN Population Fund (UNFPA), in collaboration with the Health Ministry, on 2-6 November held seminars to reinforce local capacity for treating sexual violence victims; the workshops included training in using rape kits
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