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Building back better: mental health training in Lebanon for emergency preparedness
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...
WHO joins ECHO delegation on Rafik Hariri University Hospital visit
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...
An emergency drill to enhance the readiness of Sibline Governmental Hospital
4 March 2024 – From afar, it would seem like the ambulances rushing injured people to the Emergency Unit at Sibline Governmental Hospital, near the southern town of Saida, were working in the midst of a violent war. Fortunately, however, this was only a drill, successfully coordinated with relevant stakeholders such as the hospital staff, the...
WHO donates 6 vehicles for epidemiological surveillance in Lebanon
18 February 2024, Beirut, Lebanon – The Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and WHO organized the handover yesterday of 6 new Renault Express vehicles to the Ministry’s Epidemiological Surveillance Unit (ESU). WHO Lebanon donated the vehicles to support the ESU team’s work in the field across Lebanon. The handover event at the Ministry’s premises...
The beating heart of Lebanon’s health emergency response
The updated PHEOC, a joint venture by the Ministry of Public Health and WHO, is located on the Ministry’s premises. Photo credit: WHO/WHO Lebanon 19 December 2023, Beirut, Lebanon – Lebanon is no stranger to emergencies. The country has known war and, in recent years, has had to contend with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Beirut port blast and a...
Raising Lebanon’s ability to manage mass casualty events
Dr Nelson Olim presents the proposed trauma referral pathway to key health partners at the public health emergency operations centre at the Ministry of Public Health. Photo credit: WHO/S. Khare 27 November 2023, Beirut, Lebanon – A mass casualty event is when a large number of people are wounded at the same time. Such a high volume of patients,...
Lebanon announces health emergency readiness and response plan as clashes mount
19 November 2023, Beirut, Lebanon – On 16 November 2023, Lebanon’s Minister of Public Health Dr Firass Abiad briefed ambassadors, heads of United Nations (UN) agencies and other officials from the international community on the country’s health emergency readiness and response plan. The Ministry of Public Health and WHO co-organized the briefing in...
WHO issues emergency appeal for Lebanon as cross-border hostilities increase
16 November 2023, Beirut, Lebanon – In response to increasing cross-border hostilities, WHO has released a flash appeal for readiness and response in...
Preparing hospitals in case conflict expands in Lebanon
14 November 2023, Beirut, Lebanon – With fighting ongoing at Lebanon’s southern border, the country is preparing its health facilities for the risk that hostilities may expand. A public health emergency operations centre has been activated by the Ministry of Public Health with WHO support, so that the Lebanese health sector is coordinated and efficient...
Italian Ambassador visits Lebanon’s central drug warehouse as Italian-funded cancer drugs arrive to help address the country’s medical crisis
Beirut, 17 July 2023 – The Ambassador of Italy to Lebanon, Nicoletta Bombardiere, together with the Minister of Public Health, Dr Firass Abiad, today visited the Ministry of Public Health’s central drug warehouse in Karantina, accompanied by the WHO Representative in Lebanon, Dr Abdinasir Abubakar, as part of the Italian Government’s ongoing support...
