Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) hosted a workshop to discuss the critical medical situation of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
The workshop in Doha drew participation from a number of regional and local organisations and associations working in the field.
The workshop focused on the need for co-ordination and collaboration to cover the gaps that are not currently covered by international bodies and reviewed the medical work carried out for Syrian refugees in Lebanon to date.
It also addressed the relationship with International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and their joint efforts with QRC for the implementation of
medical projects.
QRC representatives highlighted the importance of providing primary health care units and the necessity of the presence of a map outlining areas of primary healthcare, such as awareness, vaccines and nutrition.
They have also suggested encompassing displaced Palestinians from Syria to Lebanon to benefit from medical services provided.
With regards to the challenges and future scenarios for the development of medical situation of refugees and wounded Syrians in Lebanon, the participants expressed their desire to develop concepts and solutions including the establishment of a united medical fund.
They have also recommended the formation of a management committee with a supervisory role that meets regularly in order to review what has been implemented to achieve the maximum benefit from the coverage criteria adopted by UNHCR, relying on the expertise and support of Syrian expatriate doctors.
“We have engaged with the medical situation in Lebanon since the outbreak of the crisis with the help of several medical associations working with the wounded in Lebanon. One of the things that we have discussed is the establishment of a fund to treat the wounded according to specific clear mechanisms,” Kuwait-based International Islamic Charitable Organisation’s overseas offices head and field relief officer Muhamad al-Najjar said.
“A number of recommendations have already been made. We will make a good contribution to the fund and work to allocate a good amount of the proposed fund to treat the wounded in Lebanon”, he added.
Al-Najjar mentioned plans to create more co-operation and greater synergy between the efforts of local civil society organisations and United Nations organisations through certain frameworks and conditions.
“We discussed ways to identify our needs, the volume of expenditure, achievements, and the actual size of the local associations working in field according to a working paper prepared with highly specialised professionalism. There is an on-going co-ordination between us and the UN, ICRC, Unicef and many other international organisations which have encouraged our presence in the field,” he added.
Medical staff working with Syrian refugees in Lebanon have faced many challenges such as the absence of adequate support and the lack of a mechanism for co-ordination between the organisations and bodies.
According to the UNHCR statistics, the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon has surpassed 838,000.
The workshop concluded with a set of recommendations including: establishing a fund comprising the Federation of Societies of Relief for the care of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and the coalition of charities for the relief of displaced Syrians; conducting a study outlining health needs; preparing a paper on the achievements of the medical entities of Arab and Islamic countries with the participation of QRC and other actors; relying on clinics and medical units operated by Syrians doctors in Lebanon, taking advantage of their consultancy and therapeutic services; and finally preparing and sending a proposal to donors for their contributions and commitment to support the fund during the coming period.




Related Story