Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) will close all operations in Tripoli, Libya, the international medical humanitarian organization announced today. With this closure, provision of medical and mental health care to migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees in detention centers and several areas in the city will end today. MSF’s support to the National Tuberculosis (TB) Program and Abu-Setta Hospital for Respiratory Diseases will stop at the end of 2023.
“We regret that we have had to take the difficult decision to end our medical activities in Tripoli, knowing that this will have an impact on people’s access to medical care,” said Djoen Besselink, MSF operations manager. “We have not taken this decision lightly. MSF remains committed to providing free and quality health services in Libya. Our work continues in the regions of Misrata and Zuwara, where we provide primary health care, mental health counseling, and sexual and reproductive health care in public health facilities, detention centers, prisons, and urban settings."
MSF’s decision was influenced by issues that have affected MSF medical activities in Tripoli, an increasingly challenging environment for international organizations in the country, and an extensive review of MSF’s humanitarian responses and priorities globally.
MSF’s medical projects are based on identified needs and the ability to have unhindered access to those in need. As an organization with humanitarian programs in more than 75 countries, MSF is constantly evaluating its work and impact.
MSF has worked in detention centers in Tripoli since 2016, providing primary medical care and mental health support, referrals of life-threatening conditions to secondary health care facilities, and facilitating access to protection services for migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. MSF also ran mobile clinics in various areas of the city and supported two primary health care facilities to provide health promotion, mental health care, and sexual and reproductive health care. MSF has supported the National Tuberculosis Program (NTP) and Abu Setta Hospital for Respiratory Diseases in Tripoli to improve care for TB and drug-resistant TB for local and migrant communities.
MSF will continue its medical and mental health care programs in Misrata and Zuwara, including at the Misrata Chest Respiratory Hospital.
MSF continues search and rescue activities to assist asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants who risk their lives on the central Mediterranean Sea and advocates for safe pathways out of Libya for people to seek safety and protection.
MSF activities in Libya
MSF started working in Libya in 2011 providing assistance to people affected by the conflict and supporting public health facilities in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.
In 2022 MSF provided medical care to more than 50,000 people in Tripoli, Misrata, Az-Zawya, Zuwara, Bani Walid, Nesma, Zletan, and Khoms. MSF teams provided primary health care, mental health counseling, and sexual and reproductive health care in public health facilities, detention centers, prisons, and urban settings.
Through their medical activities, MSF teams identify highly vulnerable people in need of protection and refer them to other organizations in Libya, including the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, and the International Organization for Migration. MSF continues to advocate for the European Union and Libya to end forced returns at sea, arbitrary detention, and increase safe and legal pathways out of Libya.
MSF reiterates its commitment to continue providing medical care and humanitarian assistance in Libya, guided by universal medical ethics and the principles of neutrality, independence, and impartiality.
