The war waged by the Jewish State against Hezbollah has disabled nine facilities and caused 178 deaths and 292 injuries among medical personnel alone. Almost $120 million will be needed to cover at least the basic expenses of the sector in the next six months. The commitment of the interim government and Minister Abiad is to try to cover the needs of public and private health.
Beirut () – Fragile by war, Lebanon’s once rich public and private hospital networks, as well as improvised shelters for displaced people, are combining their efforts under the leadership of the Minister of Health, Firas Abiad, to face the enormous and growing needs. «We have not yet realized the magnitude of the drama. We will see it more clearly when peace has returned,” says the interim head of the ministry, which is especially in charge of emergencies and, above all, reception centers for displaced people. The latter host, according to official figures from the Beirut authorities, some 240,000 people out of a global total of 1.3 million displaced by the conflict.
Expert figures indicate that more than 300,000 Lebanese have already found temporary refuge in Iraq and Syria. The balance of these two figures, compared to the total number of displaced people, must be attributed to the reception of some of them in private homes, although their needs are as real as they are difficult to evaluate. During the first month of the total air offensive in Lebanon, which began on September 23, the toll of Israeli attacks in the Land of Cedars amounted to 3,013 dead and 13,553 wounded, according to the Ministry of Health itself.
While waiting for a ceasefire that is still far from materializing, the death toll increases by 20, 30 or 50 people a day, without the Israeli Air Force hesitant to demolish a building on its occupants to eliminate a leader of Hezbollah. This is what happened again yesterday in Almate, in the Jbeil region, where 22 civilians who had fled from the Baalbeck region died due to the collapse of the two-story building in which they had been sheltered by relatives through family ties.
In its latest report, dated November 1, the Lebanese Ministry of Health states that 178 people died and 292 were injured in health and emergency services alone. And the lifeguards of the Shiite Islamic associations are in the same spotlight as the combatants. Three of them died in recent days when their vehicle was the target of an attack in the Tire region. Only Lebanese Red Cross ambulances are authorized to circulate in the regions affected by the attacks, provided that they have previously coordinated their routes with the army and the international force Unifil.
Overcrowded centers
For the moment, Minister Abiad devotes all his attention to shelters, which are often overcrowded and occupied by families. One of the main concerns in these overcrowded centers is the risk of skin diseases such as scabies and bacterial infections such as cholera and polio. We have organized ourselves to carry out regular analyzes and controls of drinking water,” explains the former director of the Rafic Hariri public hospital in Beirut. The work currently focuses on four specific categories: the elderly, pregnant women, people with disabilities and newborns.
“The volume of aid received is not proportional to the needs,” continues Abiad, who estimates that in reality around $120 million would be needed to cover health expenses for the next six months. However, the minister declares himself satisfied with the availability of the medicines necessary to treat chronic diseases. There are about 45,000 people,” he emphasizes, “who suffer from them, a situation that reflects that of the general population of Lebanon, of which around 20% suffer from chronic diseases.”
Hospitals out of service
“Nine hospitals have been forced to close due to Israeli attacks since September 23,” adds the minister, who then adds that “others are out of service because they are located in insecure areas.” According to a report, “at least 24 hospitals are located in the 500-meter danger zone used by the Israeli army as a reference for civilian evacuation zones.” To reduce their vulnerability and protect their medical and care team, Elie Hachem, director of the Hôpital Sainte Thérèse, a private hospital located on the outskirts of the southern suburbs, fortified his emergency department with sandbags. “In the event of new bombings,” he explains, “all services will be moved to the chapel on the ground floor, considered the safest part of the entire building.”
“Doctors and nursing staff are working above their normal capacity,” says Health Minister Abiad, who wonders how long this state of serious emergency will last. «There are no doctors leaving yet, but will it last? We can hold out a little longer, but if it lasts more than two or three months, we will need “something more” to survive and be able to continue guaranteeing the resilience of the health system.
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