Sévaré: Influx of wounded people at ICRC-supported hospital in Mopti
More than 60 wounded people were admitted to Mopti's Sominé Dolo Regional Hospital, which receives support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Thirteen of the wounded had to be operated on.
"Explosions rocked the city, and everything was in chaos. People were afraid to leave their homes," said Oliver Muvunyi, the head of the ICRC's subdelegation in Mopti.
By 8:30am, our medical team was at Sominé Dolo Regional Hospital to help the staff deal with the influx of wounded people..
The ICRC has had surgical teams on-site in support of the hospital since 2020. Under the partnership with Mali's Ministry of Health and Social Development, the ICRC also provides equipment, medication and supplies; supplements salaries; and repairs and upgrades infrastructure. Hospital authorities and the ICRC also developed a contingency plan.
"The contingency plan was implemented on Saturday, which allowed us to triage the patients and treat them quickly," said the hospital's director-general, Dr Guindo. Volunteers from the Mali Red Cross were also on hand to assist with the triage.
"Of the 66 patients admitted, 44 have already been released, and we expect to release others in the coming days," said Dr Guindo.
Seeing the bodies of those killed, particularly the children, has been difficult. One mother lost her three children in the explosions.
The ICRC will begin sending additional medical personnel to Mopti on Monday, along with medical equipment and supplies, to allow the hospital to continue treating the wounded. The ICRC has already donated 40 body bags to the emergency services.
The ICRC calls on all the parties to the conflict to protect civilians and their property and refrain from attacking them.
The ICRC in Mali
The ICRC is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance.
The ICRC carries out its activities in partnership with the Mali Red Cross and the other components of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, and in close coordination with Mali's national, regional and local authorities and the other humanitarian organizations in the country.
In partnership with the Ministry of Health and Social Development, the ICRC has been supporting the regional hospitals in Gao (since 2012) and Mopti (since 2020) and the referral health centre in Kidal (since 2014). In addition to the surgical teams who remain on-site, the ICRC provides equipment, medicine, and supplies; supplements salaries; and repairs and upgrades infrastructure. Thanks to this support, in 2022 these facilities treated 35,430 patients, 21,991 of whom were treated directly by ICRC staff members because they were wounded, needed urgent care or were particularly at-risk.
For more information, please contact:
Aminata Cisse, ICRC Mali, tel: +223 82 99 21 02
