MAF to set up field hospital at Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) will set up a field hospital at the Rohingya Refugees Humanitarian Mission refugee camp in Chittagong, Bangladesh, this month.
MAF chief Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Nor said it would be the most sophisticated and comprehensive field hospital when it begins operations.
"There are currently two field hospitals operating there, managed by the Norwegian Red Cross and Bangladesh Red Crescent but they do not have the capabilities and equipment as complete as the Malaysian field hospital.
"This field hospital can accommodate up to 150 patients at any one time, besides being equipped with an operation theatre, X-ray room, and special room for mothers and children," he said after checking on the final preparations of the field hospital at the Tuanku Mizan Military Hospital here, today.
Raja Mohamed Affandi said the facilities would be operated by a team of 140 Malaysian medical staff led by the Ministry of Health (MOH).
"The total includes specialist doctors, medical officers and support staff from MOH and non-governmental organisations.
"This has been the largest collaboration between MAF and MOH under the National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS) in line with the government's call for all parties to work together to help the Rohingya refugees," he said.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian medical team chief, Dr Rizal Amrin Alwi ,said six specialists, including general and trauma surgeons, an obstetrician and gynaecologist and anaesthetist will participate in the mission.
The humanitarian crisis in the Rakhine region of Myanmar has escalated since August this year, with scores of ethnic Rohingyas fleeing to Bangladesh on a daily basis.
The exact number of refugees has yet to be verified but several parties claim it is over one million. — Bernama