Libyan UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez Serraj (R) meets with the UK Ambassador to Libya Frank Baker (L) in Tripoli, Libya, on March 13, 2018. The Libyan Ministry of Health in cooperation with the UK and the World Health Organization (WHO) launched on Tuesday a two-year project to develop healthcare centers in Libya. (Xinhua/Hamza Turkia)

TRIPOLI, March 13 (Xinhua) -- The Libyan Ministry of Health in cooperation with the UK and the World Health Organization (WHO) launched on Tuesday a two-year project to develop healthcare centers in Libya.

The project was launched during a ceremony at the headquarters of the Ministry of Health in the Libyan capital Tripoli, with presence of the UN special envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, and British Ambassador to Libya, Frank Baker.

The project aims to develop healthcare centers throughout Libya to support and improve the quality of Libyan medical services.

The first phase of the project targets 6 medical centers in a number of Libyan cities, and will later include more centers in the country.

It also aims to provide training for more than 300 Libyan physicians, 600 nurses, and about 150 healthcare administrators.

"The ambitious project aims to strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Health to effectively plan and implement healthcare service programs," said Omar Al-Tahir Bashir, Minister of Health.

It will also strengthen community support for health programs and participate in the medical care system at the level of local communities, which desperately need such important and vital projects, he added.

Bashir thanked the UK and WHO for "supporting the health sector, especially in improving the level of services in medical centers throughout the country."

The security and economic crisis in Libya negatively affected the healthcare sector.

Public hospitals and medical centers in Libya have repeatedly called for support due to lack of medical supplies and staff.