UNICEF ambulances for Vanni can't go

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 May 2000, 16:59 GMT]
Three ambulances donated by the UNICEF to the Mallavi, Kilinochchi, and Mullaithivu hospitals in the Vanni cannot be sent there because Sri Lanka's Ministry of Defence is continuing to to delay permission, health department officials in Vavuniya said today.

The three ambulances were donated by the UNICEF to help medical authorities in the Vanni cope with the problem of handling serious emergency cases that cannot be treated there due to a severe lack of drugs and intensive care facilities for surgery. The ambulances have been lying in Vavuniya for more than a month sources said.

Health department officials in Vavuniya said the few ambulances that are currently in service in the Vanni are in a very bad condition due to the dilapidated roads and jungle paths of the region. The hospitals at Akkarayan, Puthukudiyiruppu, and Mullaithivu are using ambulances in need of constant repair.

The Sri Lanka Red Cross Society operates an ambulance to the Vanni.