Comparing 2006 and 2024: How Lebanon's healthcare sector and hospitals have changed

Report by Lara El Hachem, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

Between the July 2006 War and the impacts of the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation in 2024, the conditions in Lebanon's healthcare sector have drastically changed. 

Despite the abrupt onset of the 2006 war which fragmented various regions, hospitals at the time were fully operational with a six-month supply of medications. 

Dr. Alissar Rady, Program Director at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Lebanon, highlighted the stark contrast in an interview with LBCI, noting that the healthcare situation was much better in 2006. 

Emergency services, surgeries, and intubations were readily available, with 13,000 hospital beds, including 1,200 managed by the Health Ministry. All medical teams were present and working efficiently. The main issue back then was the inability of doctors to travel due to blocked roads. 

However, despite fears of an expanded war over the past 11 months, the current healthcare system is in dire straits. 

The private sector, which provides 85% of healthcare services, is exhausted due to the economic crisis. About 30% of doctors and nurses have left the country, and 25% of nurses have also departed. Private hospitals are grappling with a lack of maintenance for large machines and the high cost of surgical supplies. 

Public hospitals, on the other hand, are largely unprepared logistically and in terms of personnel to handle severe cases.

According to the head of the Private Hospitals Syndicate, Suleiman Haroun, the number of beds in private hospitals has decreased to 8,000. There is also a notable shortage of specialists in brain and vascular surgeries and emergency care.
 
To prevent a worsening situation, the Health Ministry and the Syndicate of Drug Importers have started regular inventories of medications in the market and warehouses, revealing a supply sufficient for about five and a half months. 

Nonetheless, the WHO states that the stockpile is only enough for two months, with concerns that people might start hoarding. This stockpile is at the Health Ministry's disposal, but the Ministry's health centers are already facing shortages of chronic disease medications and medical supplies.

This prompted the WHO to provide 32 tons of medical supplies and medications for war injuries.

Despite these challenges, Lebanon and its international partners are not standing idle. The public and private sectors have developed expertise in emergency planning and prioritization. 

The WHO has trained 118 hospitals in disaster management and distributed medical supplies and surgical tools, particularly to field hospitals in the Bekaa Valley, the south, and peripheral areas.
 
The Health Ministry has established an operations room linked to the Disaster Risk Management Center at the Cabinet and a smaller room at the Rafic Hariri University Hospital to coordinate the distribution of the injured with the Ministry and all hospitals. 

In case of road blockages, plans are being made to identify accessible locations for distributing medications and supplies.