A 25-MAN medical team is set to depart Zamboanga City on Tuesday, June 27, to help in providing assistance to the thousands of internally displaced persons (IDP) in Marawi City.
Latest figures from the Department of Social Welfare and Development showed that 68,512 families or 334,304 individuals displaced by the ongoing clashes between government forces and members of the Maute terror group in Marawi have been sheltered in 83 registered evacuation centers.
Department of Health (DOH) Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit Chief Maxell Bermas said the group to be sent Tuesday will be the second medical team the agency will deploy to help the displaced families.
The first team was sent on June 12 to an evacuation center in Lanao del Norte. Its members returned home last June 21.
Bermas said the second batch, to be headed by Dr. Rolando Bucoy, will be assigned at the Sta. Elena Evacuation Center in Iligan City, Lanao del Norte.
He said the team will compose of a squad cluster, which includes a medical team; water, hygiene, and sanitation team; nutrition and emergency team; and psycho-social support system.
Its deployment is in line with the directive of the DOH central office to pool resources in providing humanitarian aid to the IDP, added Bermas. (Bong Garcia/VoxPop Philippines)