Libya facing severe shortages of life-saving medicine - UN

Libya is facing severe shortages of life-saving medicine and some one million people will soon be in dire need of help, a U.N. humanitarian official has projected.

Ali Al-Za’tari, who is stationed in Libya, argues that the country could run out of life-saving medicines within weeks, potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of people.

Al-Za’tari was due to meet Arab League delegates on a visit to Cairo to try and win support for U.N. efforts to ease what he calls a humanitarian crisis in Libya.

Scarcity of medicine he says must be addressed if the fight against diseases like cancer is to be won.

The country has descended into anarchy since the uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi five years ago.

He added that reliable food supplies were now becoming a severe problem, estimating that 1.3 million Libyans need humanitarian assistance.

Since 2014, Libya has had two competing governments, one based in Tripoli and the other in the east, both of which are backed by loose alliances of armed brigades and former rebels.

Instability has taken a heavy toll on healthcare facilities.