15 October 2024, Beirut/Cairo - Since the escalation of hostilities between Israel and Lebanon on 17 September 2024, WHO has verified 23 attacks on health care in Lebanon that have led to 72 deaths and 43 injuries among health workers and patients. Fifteen incidents impacted health facilities, while 13 impacted health transport. Hospitals in...

14 October 2024, Beirut, Lebanon – Mahmoud Sabra is the senior logistics and supplies officer at WHO’s Country Office in Lebanon. He joined the WHO team in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when logistical support was one of the main pillars of the response and has since worked through a series of emergencies including the Beirut blast in...

1 October 2024 – Health workers in Lebanon are facing challenging circumstances as they confront death and destruction on a personal and professional level. Lebanon’s health system has been thrust into crisis following the explosion of message-receiving devices on 17 and 18 September, and the events that followed. Dr Fathalla Fattouh, Thoracic Surgeon...

Pager fragments from blast injuries. Photo credit WHO.26 September 2024, Beirut, Lebanon – How does a country reeling from socioeconomic and internal and external political shocks prepare for an acute health emergency? Lebanon may provide an answer. On 17 September 2024, at 15:30 local time, message-receiving devices (pagers) began to explode...

Children gather during the OCV vaccination campaign in Qolayaat, Akkar. Photo credit: WHO Lebanon23 UN Interagency Award for noncommunicable diseases prevention and control and mental health. Photo credit MOPH Lebanon. 10 September 2024, Beirut, Lebanon – On 19 August, the Ministry of Public Health in Lebanon announced the launch of a preemptive...

On 23 July, a fact-finding mission to Arsal municipality in Lebanon’s Baalbek District, led by UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon Imran Riza and including WHO Representative in Lebanon Dr Abdinasir Abubakar, UNICEF deputy representative Ettie Higgins, Head of Office for OCHA Kristen Knutson and representatives of stakeholders, including...

9 July 2024, Beirut, Lebanon – Baabda Governmental University Hospital has officially launched its oxygen generation plant – one of 7 plants newly set up by WHO Lebanon in public hospitals across the country and funded by the German government through KfW Development Bank. The new facility highlights the importance of self-sufficient oxygen...

Public health minister, WHO representative and the Step-by-Step team from the National Mental Health Pogramme, receiving the 2023 UN Interagency Award for noncommunicable diseases prevention and control and mental health. Photo credit MOPH Lebanon.30 June 2024, Beirut, Lebanon – The National Mental Health Strategy for Lebanon 2024–2030 has been...

4 June 2024 – In emergency contexts, almost all people affected will experience some sort of psychological distress. Most of them will improve over time. But people with severe mental disorders are especially vulnerable in emergency settings. They must have support to access mental health care and meet other basic needs in such contexts. For effective...

3 June 2024 – An important visit to Rafik Hariri University Hospital (RHUH) took place on 17 May 2024 to assess the state of Lebanon’s largest public hospital. WHO Representative to Lebanon Dr Abdinasir Abubakar led a technical team from the WHO Country Office in Lebanon. This team accompanied a delegation from the European Civil Protection and...