Medical supplies and tetanus vaccines to help treat wounded soldiers in the
recent clashes in Maguindanao province, central Mindanao, were donated last
week by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to the Armed Forces
of the Philippines’ (AFP) Camp Siongco Station Hospital.
Camp
Siongco Station Hospital (CSSH) is attached to the 6th Infantry Division
of the Philippine Army in Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao. It assisted at
least 30 wounded soldiers from June to July, as the armed clashes between the
military and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) occurred. Lt. Col.
Himaya Matas, Chief of Hospital of the CSSH, expressed the AFP’s appreciation
for the medical supplies which are sufficient to treat 10,000 people in the
next three months.
“Weapon
wounds are some of the most complex injuries to treat and operate on. Wounded
fighters who stop taking part in the clashes, regardless of which side they are
on, are no longer considered as combatants. They are thus protected by
international humanitarian law (IHL) and should receive proper medical care.”
said Meher Khatcherian, head of the ICRC office in Cotabato.
“It
is the authorities’ responsibility to provide such care in an impartial manner,
but the ICRC may support whenever the situation requires it,” he added.
The
ICRC regularly supports five public hospitals in conflict-affected areas of
Mindanao through quarterly donations of medicines, vaccines and medical
supplies. It also provides ad hoc assistance to civilian and military hospitals
during crises situations. In May, the ICRC donated medical supplies to the Camp
Navarro General Hospital in Zamboanga City, while it recently provided medical
supplies to the Pagayawan rural health unit and Unayan hospital in Lanao del
Sur where clashes occurred in June.
The ICRC is a neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian
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, regardless of their political affiliation. It has
a mandate to promote knowledge and respect of IHL or the law of armed conflict. (By Allison Lopez)
The
ICRC is a neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian 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, regardless of their political affiliation. It has a mandate to
promote knowledge and respect of IHL or the law of armed conflict.
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(from
left) JC Pagaling, ICRC health field officer in Cotabato, facilitates the
ICRC’s donation of medical supplies to Camp Siongco Station Hospital through
Lt. Col. Himaya Matas, Chief of Hospital, and Maj. Jeremie Villamor, surgeon.
Photo
credit: ICRC
|
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