2023-10-05 11:00:53
Caretaker Public Health Minister Firas Al-Abyad announced in a speech he delivered at the opening of the national conference entitled, “Bridging the Gap: Strengthening the Response to Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases in the Host Community and Refugee Communities in Lebanon,” that “the Ministry will soon launch a cooperation project with the World Bank, which includes… “To fully cover two hundred thousand citizens from the most vulnerable groups through primary health care centers spread across various regions.”
He pointed out, “The rates of infection with chronic non-communicable diseases constitute a concern in Lebanon, and failure to treat these diseases at the beginning of their infection negatively affects the quality of life of our citizens and leads to a significant increase in the burden of the health bill. Therefore, the Ministry of Public Health has allocated a large amount of space Primary care in the National Health Strategy that was launched at the beginning of this year because of its pivotal role in preventing chronic diseases and anticipating their dangerous complications.”
Al-Abyad stressed that “the need for health services is increasing in Lebanon under the weight of the financial crisis.”
He said: “The number of people visiting primary care centers has tripled in the past three years, which constitutes a clear indication of the decline in the ability to obtain private health services. Although this indicates the difficult health situation that Lebanon is witnessing, we see in this situation an opportunity.” To pay attention to primary health care. In this context, I am pleased to announce a cooperation project with the World Bank that will be launched soon by the Ministry of Public Health, which includes full coverage of two hundred thousand people among our citizens from the most vulnerable groups.”
He stated, “Lebanon is adopting an integrated approach to meeting their health needs, even at the peak of its health system exceeding the capacity to absorb an influx of displaced people equivalent to a third of the population of citizens.” He revealed that “the health indicators for refugees, such as maternal mortality rates or the percentages of those vaccinated, are equivalent to the indicators for the Lebanese,” expressing his regret that the enormous effort made by Lebanon was met with a worrying decline in the financial contributions provided by the international community.
Al-Abyad pointed out, “The international community faces a great responsibility because reducing financial contributions does not undermine the humanitarian goals that we must all come together to achieve, but rather places a burden that our host country cannot bear. The refugees must return. And in the decisive stage, society must The international community must play its role and implement the required humanitarian message.”
He added, “Responding to the issue of displacement with immediate aid is no longer sufficient because the intensity of displacement has affected the Lebanese health system and revealed many of its weaknesses.”
Al-Abyad continued, “It is true that it was able to withstand and did not collapse, but this system now urgently needs to be rebuilt on the basis of a strong health infrastructure capable of withstanding and developing in the future with the aim of providing the best services at the lowest possible cost.”
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