The Stabilization Facility for Libya (SFL) handed over two mortuary freezer units to the Sebha municipality. The local authorities will install the freezer at Sebha Medical Center to boost the hospital’s capacity to cope with its tragically high volume of dead bodies.   

The equipment is part of a list of priority projects identified by the municipality to achieve local stability. 

During the handover ceremony, which took place at Sebha Medical Center, the Mayor, Mr. Hamid Al - Khayali, stated: 

 "On behalf of the people of Sebha, I would like to thank all those involved in the Stabilization Facility for Libya for supporting Sebha Medical Center, which has suffered for many years from the lack of equipment. I would also like to thank the Facility for its continued response to the needs of Sebha residents." 

On his part, the head of the Morgue at Sebha Medical Center, Mr. Hassan Zarrouk declared: 

"The equipment received today will help us solve one of the biggest daily problems at Sebha Medical Center—the accumulation of corpses at the morgue without enough freezer space to preserve them. Indeed, the Stabilization Facility for Libya provided a great gift to the Medical Center today.”  

The Facility, led by the Government of National Accord (GNA) and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with support from the international community, aims to help local authorities improve service delivery. It has already undertaken over 280 projects, rehabilitating vital government facilities and providing equipment for public services in Benghazi, Kikla, Sirt, Sebha, Ubari, Bani Walid and Tripoli. In Sebha, the SFL has also rehabilitated the sterilization department of Sebha Medical Center, and it will soon provide it with a medical waste incinerator. It has rehabilitated two English laboratories at Sebha University, the largest in Southern Libya, and fixed doors and windows of the three other classrooms. The Facility links such infrastructure projects to its local peacebuilding and conflict reduction activities in each area that it works. 

In May, clashes re-escalated in Sebha. According to UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports, the city is facing a shortage of medical personnel, and essential medical supplies. Restrictions along Sebha’s main roads prevent movement of people and goods between Sebha and other locations in the South. The equipment delivered will help the health center to storage human corpses awaiting identification or respectful burial and cremation. 

For more information, please contact: 

media.ly@undp.org