26 July 2025 – In Lebanon, I stood in the ruins of a bombed-out primary health care centre in the southern suburbs of Beirut. I met mothers doing their utmost to keep their children healthy amid rising prices and dwindling options. And I witnessed the quiet determination of health workers who continue to show up each day to serve their communities.
With national leaders, I discussed urgent health priorities: the growing burden of substance use with the President of the Republic, the critical need for access to medicines with the Speaker of Parliament, the need for comprehensive cancer care with the First Lady, and the crucial role of a national regulatory authority with the Minister of Public Health.
I met a Finance Minister wrestling with impossible numbers. We discussed the need for dedicated health budget lines across all relevant ministries to ensure cross-cutting health issues are addressed more effectively across government.
I also heard from partners from the UN system, academia, and civil society—working tirelessly to protect, provide and promote health in the face of overlapping crises.
Everywhere I went, I was struck by the immense potential of this country, the talent of its people, and the promise it still holds for the future.
But I was also acutely aware of the profound challenges Lebanon faces: ongoing hostilities, a severe economic downturn, an overstretched health system, and one of the highest refugee burdens per capita in the world.
The health sector has shown remarkable resilience—but the needs are vast and growing. Trauma care, mental health services, essential medicines, and rehabilitation and assistive products for persons with disabilities are in urgent demand.
Most hospitals operate at half capacity due to fiscal constraints. Fragile infrastructure has left millions without reliable access to clean water, making cholera and acute watery diarrhoea persistent threats. Mental health needs are soaring, especially among those who have lost homes or loved ones. Food insecurity now affects over a fifth of the population. Noncommunicable diseases, already the leading cause of death, are increasingly difficult to manage as access to medications and continuity of care are disrupted.
The combined recovery and reconstruction bill for the health and water sectors exceeds US$600 million. Yet the national treasury is severely depleted, and less than half the health needs outlined in the 2025 Lebanon Response Plan have been funded—with an even bleaker outlook for 2026.
The bottom line: both domestic and international investment in health is urgently needed. But fiscal space is extremely limited, and the international community has yet to respond at the scale required.
Still, there is progress. Together with the Ministry of Public Health, we launched the WHO–Lebanon Country Cooperation Strategy 2026–2029—a roadmap for health security, system recovery and reform, and action on the determinants of health, including environmental health.
Lebanon is also undertaking a review of its national cancer control strategy, in efforts to tackle one of the region’s highest cancer burdens.
Pharmaceutical security is rightly high on the agenda, with plans underway to establish a Lebanese Drug Authority. No health system can function without reliable access to affordable, quality medicines.
A multi-sectoral national strategy on substance use is also being updated.
Smart investment, international solidarity, and a commitment to public health from the ground up could still turn the tide.
We have a narrow but critical window of opportunity before needs escalate further and the consequences of inaction become irreversible. But sustained progress depends on a measure of stability—enough to restore investor confidence, draw skilled health professionals back home, and rebuild a health system once regarded as one of the finest in the region.
Whatever the odds, WHO stands firmly with Lebanon. We will continue to work side by side with national authorities and partners to protect health, strengthen systems, and ensure no one is left behind.