Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and upcoming elections, the Israel Defense Forces sent a medical mission to the city of Bata in the Republic of Equatorial Guinea to assist the population in the aftermath of a series of explosions.
Four explosions rocked the armory on a military base in Bata City last week resulting in dead and wounded.
The IDF in conjunction with Israel’s Ministry of Health and Ministry of Foreign Affairs left on the joint mission earlier this week.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Col. Dr. Noam Fink is heading the delegation of around 60 members most of whom are doctors and nurses from various medical corps and Israeli hospitals.
“We’re working on two main efforts. First, we’re granting aid to the three hospitals in the city,” Fink said in a recorded conversation with IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi.
Fink said they had helped dozens of patients.
“The second effort is civilian assistance,” he said, including “a tour of the explosion site, mapping out buildings, alongside local engineering authorities and putting together an effort to locate missing civilians, an effort that wasn’t in place here before.”
Fink said they were laying out instructions for the local authorities and “teaching them how to get it done.”
Kochavi instructed Fink to do “everything possible and then more.”
The IDF Medical Corps has been responsible for such delegations since 1999. The Corps made extensive preparations for this trip including establishing two treatment teams with professionals from all relevant fields with the related medical equipment they need.
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