NAAMA Denounces Violence Against Civilians and Medical Workers in the Arab World

posted on: Feb 26, 2011

The National Arab American Medical Association (NAAMA) condemns without reservation the violence and use of force against civilians and medical workers that continues unabated in parts of the Arab World.

NAAMA calls for the immediate cessation of violence and measures by the Libyan and Bahrani governments, particularly, to address the medical needs of the wounded.

Furthermore, we denounce the unprovoked attacks by authorities on medical missions, hospitals, physicians and other medical professionals while performing their duties.

NAAMA urges the governments of Libya and Bahrain, as the most recent sites of humanitarian crises, to respect international human rights laws for their citizens and to ensure the safety of medical supplies and health professionals as they dispense critically needed aid to the wounded and displaced.

Humanitarian assistance still in need in Egypt following the January revolution is now exacerbated by the thousands fleeing the violence in Libya. NAAMA is concerned about the increasing shortage of medical supplies in the face of mounting atrocities.

NAAMA continues to monitor events in the region as they unfold and will evaluate the safety, efficacy and logistics of sending a medical mission or medical supplies to the Egyptian-Libyan border to treat the injured.

Founded in 1975, NAAMA is a non-profit professional, educational and humanitarian organization for Arab American physicians, dentists, pharmacists and other licensed healthcare professionals. NAAMA’s nearly 1,500 members across the United States in 27 chapters represent multiple medical specialties and Arab ethnicities.

For more information about NAAMA, visit www.naama.com