June 20 of each year is the World Refugee Day. On this occasion, it is a great pleasure to announce the launching of a four-year project entitled “Bridging the gap: Advancing an integrated NCD-humanitarian response for refugees and host communities in Lebanon 2021-2024", which aims at reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCD) in Lebanon for vulnerable Lebanese community, refugees, and migrant populations including youth, young adults, adults, and elderly. The project is funded by a grant of approximately €4 million by the World Diabetes Foundation (WDF) and Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF). The grant will be managed by the Office of Grants and Contracts at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and will be implemented jointly by AUB and the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) starting June 2021.
Mr. Jakob Sloth Madsen, senior advisor at WDF, said, “WDF is indeed pleased with this important and timely partnership with AUB and MoPH. The project will strengthen Lebanon's health care system and at the same time ensure that NCDs such as diabetes are integrated into the humanitarian response in Lebanon."
The goals of the project include:
- To increase knowledge and skills of target population on the prevention and management of health risks related to NCDs through adoption of healthy lifestyle and early detection of NCDs
- To empower those suffering from NCDs among target population on self-management.
- To improve access of target population to high quality integrated NCD services in the primary healthcare centers included in the MoPH primary health network.
- To build the capacity of primary healthcare facilities in delivering evidence-based, high quality NCD services
- To conduct operational research that enhance NCD care and apply findings to advocate the bridging of gaps between NCDs responses and humanitarian frameworks.
This project will build on and support the NCD initiative that started in the primary healthcare network all over Lebanon since 2011, as a collaboration between the World Health Organization and MoPH. It will also be implemented in parallel and in close alignment with the Red Cross activities regarding NCDs.
Dr. Randa Hamadeh (head, Social Health Services and Primary Healthcare Department at the MoPH) commented that “this project comes again to enhance the capacities of the primary health care platform, that the primary health care (PHC) department has built and invested in with minimal existing resources, yet with much determination and belief in people's right and in equity in healthcare. Through its credibility and transparency away from any political or religious interference, this network succeeded in attracting international bodies, whether United Nations Organizations or International Non-Governmental Organizations, for joint work and collaboration."
In fact, the project comes at a critical time to Lebanon, a country that has been and is still facing many challenges during the last couple of years, including political instability, a COVID-19 pandemic, Beirut Port explosion, and severe economic crisis identified as one of the worst 10 crises in the world. The devaluation of the local currency, the high inflation rate, and the increase in unemployment rate has resulted in increasing the level of poverty among Lebanese (more than half of the population living below the poverty line) and more so among Syrian refugees (89% living in extreme poverty).
All these challenges resulted in overstretching the health system, emigration of health care professionals (doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and health technicians), decrease in availability of medical supplies and medications, and closure of hundreds of pharmacies.
Dr. Mona Osman, the principal investigator of this grant, assistant professor of Family Medicine, and co-director of the Refugee Health Program at AUB, commented, “What we are passing through currently in Lebanon would negatively impact the health of people. This is especially true for individuals suffering from NCDs, where low detection rates, lack of access to medications and limited ability to continue treatment could potentially lead to increased morbidity and mortality rates. Many thanks to WDF and NNF for supporting this project and to MoPH for partnering with AUB."
Through its different activities, this project will strengthen the capacity of primary health care, improve the quality of NCD services, and enhance access of vulnerable populations to the care needed (early detection, periodic tests, medications) in the primary healthcare centers included in the PHC network of the MoPH.