Medical supplies for military hospital in Maguindanao

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.

(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