WHO EMRO – WHO launches an ECHO-funded project to expand lifesaving health and mental health services for Sudanese refugees in southern Libya

A WHO-supported mobile clinic reaches Sudanese refugees and vulnerable communities in southern Libya, bringing essential health care to those who need it most. Photo credit: WHO Libya

14 July 2026, Tripoli, Libya – The World Health Organization (WHO), with funding from European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), has launched a new humanitarian health project to close critical gaps in health and mental health care for Sudanese refugees and vulnerable host communities in southern Libya.

The 8-month project – Reducing morbidity and mortality among Sudanese refugees in Libya by increasing access to essential health and mental health services – will strengthen access to lifesaving health and mental health services, primarily in Alkufra, and with additional support in Alghatroun.

WHO will deploy integrated mobile medical teams to deliver essential health services to refugees living on remote farms and in informal settlements and other hard-to-reach locations. The teams will include general practitioners, gynaecologists, paediatricians, mental health specialists and trauma doctors, supported by trained community health workers who will conduct follow-up, health promotion and community outreach.

The project will also reinforce selected public health facilities to ensure that refugees and vulnerable people with severe or complicated conditions can access specialized care, diagnostics and referral services when needed. Particular attention will be given to women, children, persons with disabilities, people with chronic diseases and individuals with reduced mobility.

“Sudanese refugees in southern Libya continue to face serious barriers in accessing their basic right to essential health care services, particularly in underserved areas,” said WHO Representative and Head of Mission in Libya Dr Ahmed Zouiten. “This partnership with ECHO is more than just delivering medicine, it’s about restoring dignity. By taking mobile medical teams directly to remote farms and hidden settlements, we are making sure no one is left to suffer in isolation,”

The project will also enhance the capacity of local health authorities and frontline responders in emergency preparedness, outbreak detection, infection prevention and control, mass casualty management and lifesaving stabilization. These efforts aim to strengthen health system resilience and improve readiness to respond to sudden increases in health needs, disease outbreaks and other emergencies.

The new project builds on WHO’s sustained humanitarian health response in Alkufra where WHO has maintained an operational presence since July 2024, supporting mobile medical services, community outreach and coordination of the emergency health response.

WHO will continue working closely with national and local health authorities, humanitarian partners and community representatives to ensure coordinated, equitable and dignified access to health care for refugees and host communities in southern Libya.