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

WHO Collaborative Programme

Reproductive Health and Family Planning

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Situation analysis:

Progress in provision of reproductive health services has been achieved in the country with specific focus on safe motherhood as a priority component of reproductive health. Family planning services are being expanded and promoted in the community through a joint UNFPA/MOH project executed by WHO. Collaboration with non-governmental organizations mainly the Lebanese Family Planning Association in the implementation of reproductive health and family planning services should be mentioned. Nevertheless, maternal mortality was estimated in 1996 as high as 104 per 100,000 live-births. This might be due to inadequate establishment of the health infra-structure system in the country. Fertility rates has substantially decreased over the past two decades from 4.6 births/woman in 1971 to 2.9 in 1997, which in considered among the low values in the Arab Region and has been maintaining a constant trend. This decline is attributed to a number of socio-economic factors notably improvement in educational status of women and girls, increase in the age at first marriage, improved knowledge and access to various methods of birth control. Indeed, contraceptive prevalence rat has increased (53% in 1996), but still mainly rely on conventional methods (23% modern methods). Lebanon has participated in 1995-1996 in the PAPCHILD Survey (Pan-Arab Project for Child Development Survey), which has significantly improved the knowledge of prevailing health conditions and provided more reliable health indicators.

The National Reproductive Health Project addresses health needs of women and men in what it relates to sexuality, reproduction and fertility regulation, maternal and child health family planning. Specific problems related to protection and promotion of women health are also considered under this programme.

Although the reproductive health project was developed in 1997, a slow progress in activity implementation is seen.

WHO's role will be to: promote safe motherhood initiative as a priority component of reproductive health, with particular emphasis on emergency obstetric care, in order to reduce maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity, to stress the need for integrating the existing fragmented services into the national care system through a holistic approach reproductive health and to provide support for the conduct of situation analysis on the health of women.

Main achievements:

- A national steering committee on reproductive health which is believed to play a vital role in projecting appropriate policies and strategies to protect, promote and coordinate reproductive health activities in the country, was established.
- A study on hospital practices in Maternity wards in Lebanon was conducted at AUB in 1997-1998 with the main objective of acquiring baseline data on policies and routines applied obstetric wards for women having normal delivery. Other studies developed at AUB are related to women experience of maternal care, and measuring gynecological morbidity comparing two data sources from Beirut.
- In 1997, a Perinatal Neonatal Database was established at the American University of Beirut - Medical Centre (AUB-MC), with the support of WHO, the Lebanese National Council, Scientific Research and the University.
- A study on the prevalence of reproductive health conditions in a rural area of Bekka Valley was conducted by a team from AUB and finalized with WHO support during 1998-1999.

Priority Areas:

- Maternal and perinatal / neonatal health and family planning including population issues and reproductive health of adolescents. 
- Update of data on reproductive health through the National PAPFAM SURVEY.

Objective:

To ensure healthy population development through protection and promotion of reproductive health.