World Health Organization - Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean
WHO Country Office in Lebanon

WHO Collaborative Programme

Medical and Allied Sciences

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Situation Analysis:

Lebanon scores one of the highest ratios of physician, dentists and pharmacists to the population in the EMR. The human resource indices (2000) per 10 000 population are 29.2, 10.4, 6.5 and 11.9 for physicians, dentists, pharmacists and nurse/midwife respectively. The ratio of nurses/midwives to other categories is still surprisingly low and almost reversed despite the noticed rise from only 6.5 in 1997.

Private and non-government sector dominates health delivery in the country and hence most of the health manpower is practicing there.

There are four medical schools in the country led by the AUB one of the oldest educational institutions in the Region. Medical sciences education follows the European and American models in its organization and affiliation. While standards of graduates from Lebanese institutes are considered technically good yet the orientation of the educational programmes is considered traditional in its approach and of different models.

In a country where the delivery of health care is undertaken to a large extent by non governmental providers, the MOH can drive the valuable assistance from health science institutions. The collaboration between the MOPH and the Lebanese University in Oral Health Care delivery is a good example for such collaboration.

Constraints:

- Adoption of different educational systems in Health Professions Education (HPE) 
- Weak public sector role in health care delivery

Priority areas:

- National revision of curricula in HPE schools and promotion of community oriented education.
- Establishment of partnership

Objectives:

1. Revise curricula in HPE schools towards introduction of PHC related topics relevant to the country's needs.
2. Promote community oriented educational approaches.
3. Strengthen partnership between MOPH and health sciences institutions.
4. Encourage multi-professional training programmes.
5. Promote family medicine, family health practice and general practice education.