In a one-hour teleconference on June 16, the Director-General of the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC),Badereddin Annajar, joined by the director of the NCDC’s Sebha branch, Abdulhamid Elfakhri, and the director of the Public Health Emergency Office, Kamel Taloa, briefed Ambassador Norland regarding the COVID-19 situation across Libya.

Ambassador Norland commended the NCDC’s efforts, and those of its local and international partners, to expand disease surveillance,strengthen public health laboratories, equip isolation wards, and boost public health awareness despite the challenges posed by ongoing conflict.

The Ambassador and Annajar, Elfakhri, and Taloa expressed particular concern about the situation in the Fezzan, where public health infrastructure remains lacking in a majority of communities.

The Ambassador highlighted U.S. support for efforts to establish a ceasefire leading to a political resolution of the conflict in Libya, and encouraged all Libyan authorities to set aside political differences to focus on the current health crisis.

The U.S. government has pledged over $12 million to COVID-19 response in Libya. This funding will be used to detect, prevent, and control the spread of the virus, with a special focus on vulnerable Libyans, migrants, and refugees. Since 2011, the U.S. government has invested over $715 million in Libya’s public health sector and other forms of humanitarian assistance, stabilization, and development.