LEBANON
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Our Role and Approach
MSF worked in Lebanon for the first time in 1976, when it first intervened during the country’s civil war. Today, MSF’s activities in Lebanon aim to address some gaps among the medical needs of vulnerable people in Lebanon, whether they are Lebanese, refugees from Syria and Palestine, or migrant workers from a number of different countries.
The Israeli war destroyed a number of health infrastructure namely in heavily war affected areas, displaced up to a million people to overcrowded shelters and host communities, and left nearly two million people with limited access to healthcare services. Lebanon also hosts more than 1.5 million Syrian and Palestinian refugees, in addition to approximately 250,000 migrant workers, who were among the most deprived of humanitarian aid during the war in Lebanon.
The people in Lebanon, already pushed to the brink, had to confront the dual crises of the economic collapse and the consequences of armed conflict which led to a dire medical and humanitarian emergency.
In response, in 2024, MSF ensured it continued its existing efforts to support access to primary healthcare across Lebanon through both our own clinics and by supporting existing primary healthcare facilities. In our clinics, our teams delivered primary healthcare, including chronic disease management, paediatric and reproductive healthcare, and mental health services. Simultaneously, MSF supported five primary healthcare centres in Tripoli, enhancing care for non-communicable diseases and mental health in line with the Ministry of Public Health and World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for a holistic and patient-centred package of care. Our teams in Tripoli also provided technical guidance and capacity-building to clinicians in partner facilities, as well as subsidisation for non-communicable disease patients, support for mental health activities, organised activities related to raising awareness
on health topics, and assistance in procuring medications.
Since the intensification of Israeli bombardment and ground incursions in September 2024, MSF scaled up its support in the country deploying mobile medical teams across Lebanon, particularly in heavily war affected areas like Beirut, Mount Lebanon, Baalbeck, Hermel and southern Lebanon. In addition to the mobile teams, MSF provided trauma care, supported local hospitals by offering mass casualty training and supplying thousands of tonnes of medical and relief materials to strengthen their capacity.
MSF also distributed essential relief supplies, such as mattresses, blankets, hygiene kits, and potable water, to displaced people. The teams also supplied water by trucks and supported local initiatives that provided meals in several collective shelters.
MSF continues to support in addressing health and other emergency needs as many communities remain in desperate need of support. However, as the recovery will take the path forward remains uncertain as people are scrambling to rebuild their lives in an atmosphere of insecurity and volatility.
MSF provides essential primary healthcare services in the suburbs of Beirut, where vulnerable communities face limited access to social and health services. Southern suburbs of Beirut were one of the most affected by the war in Lebanon adding another layer of burden to accessing basic services with Israeli bombardments damaging essential infrastructure such as water and electricy.
Our teams offer reproductive healthcare, mental health support, general medical consultations, treatment for non-communicable diseases as well as routine vaccinations for children. These services are complemented by health awareness activities and social work, including referrals for hospital care, legal support, and other critical needs beyond MSF’s direct care.
Our teams operate two clinics: one that has been running since 2013 in Bourj Al-Barajneh, a home to many Palestinian and Syrian refugees, and another in Bourj Hammoud, an area that is home to migrant workers from various African and Asian countries and has been active since 2020. While our services are open to all, our proximity to these neighborhoods makes us more accessible to those who might otherwise struggle to access healthcare.
Before the war, MSF also provided home-based medical care for bedridden patients in Shatila and Bourj Al-Barajneh, ensuring access to healthcare for those with limited mobility.
In 2024, and until the end of July that year, MSF continued to provide reproductive healthcare services, mental health support, and routine vaccinations for children, which were gradually integrated into Makassed Primary Healthcare Centre in Wadi Khaled where access to basic care is extremely challenging. Throughout the year, these activities were offered in collaboration with Makassed, ensuring a smooth transition and integration by the end of July. This collaboration aligns with our strategy to enhance Lebanon’s local healthcare capacity and
strengthen the local healthcare system, ensuring sustainable and long-term access to healthcare for the community. As part of this effort, we provided technical and logistical support, reinforced medical staff capacity, and donated resources to Makassed’s team.
Our teams have also set a community-based surveillance to observe any health-related trends, along with regular visits to local communities to raise awareness on key health topics and promote healthy behaviours.
The living conditions in Tripoli have been deteriorating over time due to limited housing, depleted infrastructure,
lack of clean water and sanitation, and inadequate access to social services. The healthcare system in the city is under significant strain,
facing numerous challenges. These challenges primarily relate to ensuring that people have access to healthcare services and medication.
Since June 2022, MSF has been supporting five primary healthcare facilities in Tripoli to strengthen care for non-communicable diseases and mental health services with a holistic and patient-centred package of care, in line with Ministry of Public Health and World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. Our teams provide technical guidance and capacity-building to clinicians in partner facilities,
as well as community activities, subsidisation for non-communicable patients, supporting mental health activities, health promotion activities and support in procuring medications. This project remains one of our main focuses, as the country’s healthcare system continues to need support due to the added burdens and ongoing repercussions from the war.
In Baalbek-Hermel governorate, the ongoing economic crisis has further compromised limited public healthcare services, and the
region was one of the hardest hit by Israeli bombardment during the 2024 war in Lebanon, leaving many returning to destroyed
homes and essential infrastructure, both of which have significantly limited access to healthcare. Our teams run a clinic for
more than thirteen years in Arsal and another in Hermel. In both clinics, MSF provides primary healthcare services to patients
with non-communicable diseases (such as hypertension, diabetes, asthma, epilepsy), reproductive health services, paediatric
medical consultations, and mental health services to vulnerable communities in surrounding areas. Additionally, MSF provides
lifesaving care by referring cases in need of hospitalization to our partner facilities, including those requiring deliveries, newborn
and pediatric care, and treatment for complications of chronic diseases.
In both areas, our teams have set up a system for detecting and reporting key infectious diseases prone to outbreaks and public
health events, such as acute watery diarrhoea, Hepatitis A, cholera, scabies, lice and measles, within the Aarsal and Hermel communities. Through community-based surveillance activities, we have established a network of surveillance focal points, supported by health promotion teams who oversee training, supervision, and coaching. The medical team verifies alerts and ensures timely internal reporting and the Ministry of Public Health.
In August 2024, MSF collaborated with Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health among other international actors and conducted a mass vaccination campaign with 75 per cent of coverage in Arsal. The aim was to protect the community from cholera, with the town being at high risk to the disease due to poor water infrastructure and sanitation. Targeting Lebanese and refugee communities living in overcrowded and underserved areas, the campaign aimed to prevent the outbreak, especially as cholera remained prevalent in neighbouring countries.
Since the beginning of the clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in October 2023 which had already displaced thousands of people, MSF deployed mobile medical teams to support two primary healthcare centres located in Nabatieh.
As cross-border hostilities escalated into a two-month devastating war across the country near the last quarter of the year with intensification of Israeli bombardment across Lebanon and ground incursions in September 2024, MSF scaled up its
response deploying a total of 22 mobile medical teams across the country specifically in hardly hit areas or areas that were hosting a lot of displaced people whether in shelters or by host communities.
The war destroyed a number of the country’s health infrastructure, displaced up to a million people to overcrowded shelters and host communities, and left nearly two million people with limited access to healthcare services.