An ICRC truck carrying the 1.4-tonne consignment left the organization's logistics base in Nairobi early Friday afternoon.

The supplies include pharmaceuticals, dressings, sutures, anaesthetics, and other surgical consumables. They were dispatched at the request of officials at the hospital and in coordination with the Ministry of Health. "These items will ensure that the hospital can cope with the number of wound victims from the recent flare-up of violence in the Nakuru-Molo area," said Pascal Cuttat, head of the ICRC regional delegation in Nairobi. "We're in regular contact with the hospital and the ICRC is prepared to offer further aid if requested."

In Eldoret, an ICRC team composed of a surgeon, an anaesthetist and two nurses has just completed a three-week assignment at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, where they have been operating on particularly difficult cases, including burns and wounds with complications. The first ICRC surgeon arrived in Eldoret on 1 January to carry out operations and help hospital authorities set up triage and other systems to manage the large influx of wounded at that time. The ICRC also provided the Moi Hospital with material to treat 100 victims.

Working through the Kenya Red Cross Society, the ICRC has also furnished food and essential household items to people affected by the violence. Staff from the ICRC and the Kenya Red Cross are striving together to ensure adequate water supplies and sanitation for people forced to flee their homes. The ICRC is also assisting the Kenya Red Cross in its work to reunite families who have been separated by the events.

"The ICRC is concerned about the degree of suffering of Kenyans from all walks of life," adds Cuttat. "We urge everyone connected with the events and the ongoing tension to ensure the respect of human life and dignity at all times."
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