In Lebanon, the humanitarian situation has been deteriorating daily since the start of the war in the Middle East. More than a million people have been displaced, forced to flee their homes in haste. Doctors of the World is alarmed by the direct impact on access to healthcare for all civilians in the affected areas and is strengthening its activities in the country.
14% of Lebanon is now under evacuation orders, with over a million people reporting being forced to flee their homes. Public infrastructure—schools, gymnasiums—has been made available by the government and converted into emergency shelters. Doctors of the World is supporting the Lebanese Ministry of Health in deploying mobile clinics to these facilities, particularly in Beirut, Baalbek-Hermel, and the Bekaa Valley.
“ We were able to send medical kits to supply three health centers for about 3 months, including antibiotics, antipyretics and analgesics, but also medications for chronic diseases, ” explains Dr. Jean-François Corty, president of Doctors of the World.
Only 12.5% of displaced people were able to find shelter in these emergency reception centers. While others were able to take refuge with relatives, many families have no other choice but to live in unsanitary and informal settings, in tents, their cars, or on the streets.
As Caroline Bedos Esteban, head of the Middle East department for Doctors of the World, explains: “Living conditions in overcrowded shelters are precarious for families and conducive to the spread of disease, even worse for people in informal shelters or on the streets, exposed to the elements. Added to this are mental health challenges : people are traumatized by having to abandon everything in haste, due to increasingly frequent evacuation orders, the fear of bombings, and the uncertainty of the future.”
Doctors of the World calls on all parties to the conflict to ensure the protection of civilians under all circumstances. We also reiterate that civilian infrastructure, including health centers and schools, is protected under international humanitarian law and must never be targeted, especially given the numerous cases of direct attacks on health facilities that have already been documented.
We also call for an inclusive response that takes into account the needs of all civilian populations in Lebanon, as the country has been hosting many refugees for years.