Over the course of the past six weeks, UNIFIL’s French and Finnish peacekeepers provided medical support to about 600 children in the city of Burj Kallawiyah, south Lebanon.

The peacekeepers attached to the UN Mission’s Force Commander’s Reserve (FCR) extended the support mainly to the children of a local public school. They performed medical checkups, including checking the children’s development, monitoring their height and weight, checking visual acuity, and detecting possible digestive, heart, lung or skin disorders.

The six-week special campaign is in addition to the regular medical support FCR provides to the local population all year round. In the past they have treated infants as young as one month and the patients with serious burns.

The French-led FCR is the operational reserve at the Force Commander’s disposal, able to act in the whole area of operations (AO). Besides conducting regular patrols, FCR peacekeepers also participate in air and ground surveillance within the AO, including radar and anti-aircraft defenses, and provide training for the Lebanese Armed Forces.

The latest medical campaign is one of its several civil-military cooperation (CIMIC) activities in support of the host communities. It also provides regular medical support to the population by receiving patients directly coming to its main base in Dayr Kifa.