QRC, UNHCR Sign Agreement for Malian Refugees in Niger

Doha, February 18 (QNA) - Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to continue the relief efforts for the Malian refugees who fled to Niger due to political and military events in northern Mali, with common funding of 170,170 euros from UNHCR and 51,497 euros (QR 213,393) from QRC, which will also undertake all field activities. Under the MoU, QRC will continue its medical intervention commenced in October 2013 under a first agreement between the two parties, which was then extended by two other agreements till the end of December 2014. As the suffering of Malian refugees in Niger remains, this fourth agreement was signed to extend the health care project till the end of June 2015 to meet the increasing humanitarian needs of tens of thousands of Malian refugees. 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. 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. So far, these medical teams have served more than 30,000 Malians at refugee camps, as well as over 74,000 people of adjacent local communities. QRC initiated its urgent relief intervention in favor of the Malian refugees in response to an emergency appeal from the State of Mali and the Islamic Supreme Council in the wake of insurgency in 2011. The program involves two parts: (1) relief for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Mali and (2) relief for Malian refugees in neighboring countries, in coordination with UNHCR and the governments of host countries. One of the biggest refugee-receiving countries is Niger, particularly at the Tillaberi and Tahoua border regions. It is also a destination of refugees from several neighbors witnessing security turbulence, estimated at as many as 315,000, but actual numbers are much higher, let alone the recurrent food crises and seasonal floods. (QNA)