One of Malta’s main roles in the Libyan revolution was the medical assistance given to wounded fighters caught between a vicious front line and a crippled health system.

Patients could not continue to receive medication during the Libyan war

Most of that work has subsided but Malta is still lending a hand to a group of Libyan children considered “forgotten” cases as they could not continue receiving medication for their illnesses during the war. These are being treated at Mater Dei Hospital at the government’s expense.

“They could be children who would not have been able to have chemotherapy for a year and their tumour has now grown larger, causing all sorts of other ailments,” said defence director Vanessa Frazier, whose directorate is involved in the humanitarian aid programme during the Libya crisis.

“Much of the focus then was on the injured but there are other types of injuries,” she said. “They are cases that were put on the backburner due to the war. But they are still victims of war.”

Health Minister Joe Cassar said this was a continuation of what had started during the Libya crisis, which erupted this time last year, whereby children and adults, also suffering from rare conditions and needing specialised care, were treated here.

Malta is providing the medical services and host nation support while the Qatari government is funding per diem and accommodation for outpatients and accompanying guardians.

Given the state of affairs of the health system in Libya, the idea is to ease the strain on their medical services until they are able to rebuild them.

The problem was that lots of professionals had left the country and hospitals were left unattended, apart from bombarded, Dr Cassar said, adding that Libya’s Health Minister would be visiting Malta next week. Malta was also offering to help the Libyans train their government officials and to build their institutions, Ms Frazier said.

During the crisis, almost all aid to Libya went through Malta, which became the humanitarian hub. So the World Food Programme has asked to use the Maltese model, put into practice by the defence directorate, in its five humanitarian hubs around the world. Based on the principle that all aid for Libya should go to Libya, in that none of the donors’ money was spent on fees, most expenses involved were waived. Malta’s model offered free storage, quay and office space, so aid workers could operate from the hub without footing bills. The pilot’s association provided their services for free and visa fees were waived. The money to purchase the aid was spent in Malta.