Over the past few months, Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) has made considerable progress in its humanitarian and relief activities for the benefit of Malian refugees and the local community in Bassiknou town in the Hodh Ech Chargui region, southeastern Mauritania, as well as nationwide in partnership with the Mauritanian Red Crescent, according to a statement.

The most notable achievement was the opening of a new QRC local office in Bassiknou for closer field supervision of its relief and development projects in co-ordination with the Mauritanian Red Crescent, the executive partner, under a three-year framework agreement signed lately between it and QRC as a legal basis for the latter’s activities in the region.

The recent clashes in Mali drove thousands of Malians to flee to neighbouring countries, including Mauritania, which hosts nearly 60,000 refugees in the Bassiknou-located Ombada camp alone, living in difficult humanitarian and health conditions. The town lacks adequate healthcare, largely in surgeries.

QRC installed and furnished an integrated surgical unit and sent a surgeon to support the state healthcare centre by assigning one day every week for examinations and operations. Saturday was selected because it is the day when the town’s weekly market takes place. A large number of visitors come to the health centre from all remote villages surrounding Bassiknou, which has a population of 50,000.

Along with the inception of the new surgical unit, QRC organised training courses for 35 volunteers of the Mauritanian Red Crescent, as well as awareness raising programmes for 500 Malian families at the Ombada camp and 500 local families. QRC also plays an active role in combating Ebola by conducting health education programmes on the disease, its symptoms and causes, and how to prevent it.

The opening ceremony of the surgical unit was attended by the town’s governor, military governor and chief doctor; QRC representative and surgeon; a Family Recreation Foundation representative; a doctor from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC); and head of the local committee of the Mauritanian Red Crescent.

In a keynote speech during the visit, the governor commended QRC’s intervention in Mauritania in general and Bassiknou in particular. He emphasised the importance of the surgical unit for the town and called upon the QRC representative to co-implement educational programmes for the local community and Malian refugees to fight the fatal Ebola disease.

Other visitors toured the unit, expressing their approval and highlighting its importance. They included a representative of the Italian humanitarian foundation Intersos, representative and health co-ordinator of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, representative of the Food Security Commission, representative and surgeon of Doctors Without Borders and an ICRC representative.

The local community expressed its happiness at QRC’s presence in Bassiknou, showing gratitude and appreciation for its efforts and health services. The QRC surgical unit has helped reduce cases referred for treatment to the city of Néma, which is 200km away.