THE International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has donated medical supplies to Camp Navarro General Hospital (CNGH) in Zamboanga City to treat people wounded in recent clashes in the province of Sulu.

Piotr Dregiel, head of the ICRC office in Zamboanga City, said Friday, June 1, that as part of the ICRC’s humanitarian mandate to help people affected by armed conflicts, it provided intravenous fluids and wound-care materials to CNGH.

The CNGH is the military hospital that serves as the main operating base for southwest Philippines. It is located inside Camp Navarro, which houses the headquarters of the Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City.

The medical supplies, which were handed over last week, can cover the needs of 20 to 30 wounded people.

Lieutenant Colonel Maria Victoria Mandin, CNGH head, expressed appreciation for the donation and the continuing support of the ICRC.

“Their medical donations since 2016 have supplemented the supplies and medicines of the hospital which at times can become low due to increased patient needs especially during the height of military operations,” Mandin said.

The ICRC regularly supports five hospitals in conflict-affected areas of Mindanao through quarterly donations of medicines, vaccines and medical supplies.

It also provides ad hoc assistance to hospitals during crises situations.

The ICRC donated medical items and jerrycans in April this year to the Sulu Integrated Provincial Hospital Office in response to the diarrhea outbreak in island town of Pata.

The ICRC is a neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance, regardless of their political affiliation.

It has an international mandate to promote knowledge for and respect of international humanitarian law. (Bong Garcia/SunStar Philippines)