Brazzaville, 09 March 2012 - On Sunday, 4 March 2012, at about 8.00 am, a series of explosions were heard at the military camp of the Armoured Regiment, located at the Mpila suburb of Brazzaville. Over 200 people have been reported dead so far and more than 1000 people were wounded. The wounded are being treated at public hospitals across the city.

In response to this crisis, the World Health Organization immediately sent tons of drugs and equipment to the University Hospital and Military Hospital to treat those affected. The organization also deployed a 41-member medical emergency team comprising surgeons, anesthetics and nurses who are treating patients,

This team set up a field hospital and started performing major operations in addition to providing care for people who sustained minor injuries. No deaths have been recorded in this hospital since the arrival of the team. Staff at the Regional Office organized blood donation to support ongoing efforts to save lives.

Experts are also being deployed to assess sites for internally displaced people to detect all epidemic prone diseases particularly water borne diseases such as cholera, so that appropriate action are taken to avert them.

Speaking at the Bacongo Hospital where the WHO-deployed medical team is based, Dr Youssouf Gamatie, WHO Representative to Congo said:" WHO in collaboration with the United Nations system and other development partners is working with the government to respond to this crisis. The imperative need for the African Public Health Emergency fund to be operational becomes acute given the utmost importance of prompt response to such crisis".

He underscored the importance of cross-border collaboration to address such a tragedy