WMA urges immediate action to end humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh
A call for urgent action to help thousands of civilians caught up in a humanitarian crisis in Armenia has come from the World Medical Association (WMA).
The crisis follows a blockade of the Lachine corridor connecting Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) to Armenia, which has led to more than 120,000 civilians being cut off from all medical aid, the WMA said in a statement.
"As a consequence, thousands of people in the Nagorno Karabagh Republic cannot receive food supplies and medical aid, and patients in the area cannot be transported to hospital in the Armenian capital Yerevan," it added.
Dr. Frank Ulrich Montgomery, Chair of the WMA Council, said: ‘Patients are at risk of dying because they cannot get their medicines and cannot get to hospital. We urge the Azerbaijan Government to ensure safe access through the Lachine Corridor immediately to avoid this humanitarian crisis getting worse. This is a critical route for the delivery of vital food and medical supplies’.