Disaster Response Lebanon Project #53461

Addressing Humanitarian Needs in Lebanon

Project Report | May 17, 2022
Final Report on Humanitarian Needs in Lebanon

By Caitlin Bartkus | Specialist, Grants and Reporting

Pharmacist dispenses medicine provided by our team

This will be our final update as International Medical Corps’ emergency response in Lebanon draws to a close.

To continue supporting International Medical Corps, please visit our “Responding to the Conflict in Ukraine” project to learn about our response to the ongoing crisis.

Learn more about our Ukraine response here https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/responding-to-the-conflict-in-ukraine/

In 2022, Lebanon continues to reel from compounded crises: rapidly rising inflation, deep economic and financial meltdown, political instability, institutionalized corruption, the aftermath of the Beirut Port Explosion, the continuing COVID-19 pandemic and the on-going Syrian refugee crisis. The rapid deterioration of the Lebanese economy and the complete paralysis of the banking sector has created one of the deepest depressions recorded in modern times. Lebanon’s dire economic conditions have affected vulnerable Lebanese families and marginalized refugee communities the hardest.

Lebanon continues to host the largest concentration of refugees per capita and the fourth largest refugee population in the world. The refugee population and the general increase in demand for health services continue to place considerable stressors on the provision of health services, leading to limited access to quality health care for both refugees and vulnerable Lebanese. These crises have contributed to the disintegration of the country’s already fragile healthcare system—hyperinflation, increased number of beneficiaries needing healthcare, budget cuts to the healthcare sector, all resulting in negative healthcare outcomes for the most vulnerable populations. The medication shortage has only served to exacerbate the situation making healthcare financially inaccessible for most.

To meet this critical gap, International Medical Corps has procured (and continues to procure) acute and chronic medications to support primary health care clinics (PHCCs) and contribute to the national supply chain of pharmaceuticals. These procurements are aligned and complementary to the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) supply of National Essential Drug List medications. International Medical Corps has quantified PHCCs’ needs for medications with the expertise of Field Pharmacists through a detailed assessment within each PHCC. In line with the identified needs, product selection was based on the National Essential Drug List, in coordination with the MoPH.

Our team recently procured eight different kinds of acute and chronic medications—including basic antibiotics like Amoxicillin and anti-diabetics like Metformin—that will support eight primary health centers in Tripoli and Akkar. These medications will help our team provide more than 34,000 people from marginalized communities with the healthcare they need.

International Medical Corps is grateful for GlobalGiving and its community of donors for raising awareness of the needs of vulnerable populations in Lebanon.

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Feb 15, 2022
Reaching Lebanon's Most Vulnerable

By Caitlin Bartkus | Associate Specialist, Resource Development

Our team supports more than 50 healthcare centers

Since the fall of 2019, Lebanon has been experiencing a socio-economic crisis. With the Lebanese economy deteriorating and the banking sector paralyzed, this crisis has created one of the deepest depressions recorded in modern times.

The Lebanese market is currently witnessing unprecedented shortages in certain kinds of medications, especially for acute illnesses. Moreover, the importation of medical equipment has also been limited due to monetary imbalances, waning foreign currency reserves and bank restrictions. It has been reported that several hospitals were cutting down on certain elective surgical procedures to stretch the reserve of anesthetics and other medical supplies for emergency procedures.

Throughout this period, International Medical Corps has been continuously identifying resources and supplies both in and outside of Lebanon with our local and international procurement and logistics teams to rapidly provide the needed medical supplies and medications.

In parallel, the country’s economic and monetary crisis extensively limited the importation of fuel and gas. Consequently, hospitals and healthcare facilities, have been experiencing daily power shortages for long hours due to cuts in the national electricity grid, and shortages of diesel fuel for their backup generators; hence, leaving hospitals functioning at 50% capacity, while others are shutting down because of a lack of resources.

Our team has procured, from international markets, 18 different kinds of chronic and acute medications to be distributed, in the coming months to all 57 International Medical Corps-supported Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCCs). In parallel, we are currently in the process of procuring additional medication from the Lebanese local market.

Our team works closely with the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health to ensure we meet the most urgent gaps. We anticipate reaching some 10,000 people from marginalized communities with these essential and critical medicines.

International Medical Corps is grateful to the GlobalGiving community of donors for raising awareness of the medication crisis in Lebanon.

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Nov 16, 2021
Delivering Lifesaving Medicines

By Caitlin Bartkus | Associate Specialist, Resource Development

Our team provides essential medicines and supplies

Lebanon continues to suffer from the economic, financial and political crisis that broke out in 2019. The country now hosts nearly 1 million Syrian refugees as well as an estimated 250,000 to 400,000 Palestinians. This means that roughly a quarter of the country’s population is made up of refugees—an influx that has left public services severely overstretched and deepened poverty levels.

Financial restraints have significantly burdened the Lebanese healthcare system which had to recover from the devastating 2020 Beirut Port explosion and is still coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. Demand for health services has skyrocketed. In 2021, International Medical Corps observed a 25% increase in individuals seeking services from primary healthcare centers.

The economic turmoil has, most notably, limited access to essential supplies, including lifesaving medication. Since July 2021, the cost of imported and locally manufactured medicines has increased several times over. Antidiabetic medicines are missing or difficult to find in pharmacies while basic antibiotics like Amoxicillin, and oncology medications are currently inaccessible on the Lebanese market.

International Medical Corps’ team, which began working in Lebanon in 2006, is supporting the healthcare system through the provision of these essential and lifesaving medicines. Our team works with the Ministry of Public Health to procure and distribute medications included on Lebanon’s national essential medication list. This list covers medications needed to treat infectious diseases like the flu, pneumonia, urinary tract infections and skin infections, but also allergies, burns and more.

Atef, a 54-year-old man, came to the International Medical Corps-supported Labweh Primary Healthcare Center with throat pain and a high fever. Health providers at the center diagnosed Atef with pharyngitis and prescribed him Amoxicillin and Clavulanic Acid. After receiving his medication, which had been donated by International Medical Corps, Atef shared, “I would like to express my gratitude to the primary healthcare center team and to International Medical Corps for the continuous support and free of charge medications. I wouldn't have been able to afford it at the community pharmacies.”

Thanks to the support from the GlobalGiving community and other donors, International Medical Corps can continue to provide essential medicines to people in Lebanon like Atef.

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