17 December 2025, Beirut, Lebanon – Lebanon has taken a step towards improving medicine safety and transparency with the launch of the updated Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) app, a digital tool that enables citizens to verify the authenticity of medicines and access reliable health information directly.
Launched by Minister of Public Health Dr Rakan Nassereddine, the updated application allows medicine verification through integration with the MediTrack traceability system. By allowing users to scan medicine packages and confirm whether products are registered and legally imported, the app helps protect patients from counterfeit, unregistered and potentially unsafe medicines.
The app also allows users to identify the nearest health facility based on their geographic location and provides information and statistics related to daycare centres and the latest health news and updates, keeping citizens informed of developments in the health sector and national initiatives.
The launch event at the in MOPH lecture hall was attended by Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Lebanon Alessandra Viezzer, First Secretary at the Italian Embassy Pietro Eynard, WHO Representative in Beirut Dr Abdinasir Abubakar, Head of the Pharmacy Department at MOPH Dr Colette Raidy, the Director of the Digital Health Programme at the Ministry Lina Abou Mrad and representatives of health syndicates and other stakeholders.
In his address, Dr Nassereddine said the updated application is an important component of the reform programme the Ministry has developed and is central MOPH’s Digital Health Vision 2030.
He underlined the benefits for citizens and the pharmaceutical sector, which faces competition from counterfeiters and smugglers, noting that the app will soon cover every medicine available on the market.
Dr Nassereddine added that cooperation with international partners – the EU, the Government of Italy and WHO, and the tremendous efforts of the Ministry’s technical team and the Pharmacy Department, had made rollout of the app possible.
Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Lebanon Alessandra Viezzer highlighted the importance of digital transformation in increasing transparency in the pharmaceutical sector, stressing that the updated app allows every citizen to verify the validity of medicines. She also praised the MediTrack medicine tracking system.
First Secretary at the Italian Embassy Pietro Eynard stressed how Italy’s support aims to strengthen national capacities to ensure safe, transparent and equitable access to medicines, emphasizing how digital transformation, anchored in strong public institutions, helps protect the right to health even in the most challenging circumstances.
Underlining the importance of digital medicine traceability, WHO Representative in Lebanon Dr Abdinasir Abubakar said the MediTrack system and the MOPH mobile app delivers 3 key benefits – protecting patients by reducing the risks of counterfeit, unregistered and expired products, promoting the safe, appropriate and effective use of medicines and entrenching a culture of transparency and accountability.
He stressed that MediTrack is part of a broader transformation of Lebanon’s pharmaceutical and digital health systems. It integrates with the logistics management system (LMS), linked to the AMAN and PHENICS platforms, bringing together financial coverage, primary health care data and medicine tracking in support of achieving universal health coverage. When data moves from closed systems into the public domain, concluded Dr Abubakr, the entire system changes. The role of compliant and ethical actors is strengthened and illicit practices become harder to conceal, making transparency itself a form of protection.
The Director of the Ministry’s Digital Health Programme Lina Abou Mourad then delivered a technical presentation on the new version of the MOPH App, explaining its advanced features.
The initiative is part of Lebanon’s broader digital health transformation and contributes to strengthening regulatory oversight in the pharmaceutical sector.
The launch reflects the strong collaboration between the Ministry of Public Health, the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Union (EU) and the Government of Italy, and their determination to reinforce national health systems and regulatory capacity.
WHO will continue to support the Ministry and national regulatory authorities in strengthening medicine regulation, traceability and quality assurance, including good manufacturing and distribution practices.
By leveraging digital innovation and international partnerships, Lebanon is advancing safer access to quality medicines and reinforcing public confidence in the health system.
