He pointed out that, “the level of concern is increasing about the ability of the already fragile Lebanese health system to withstand as a result of the additional negative repercussions that the emerging global crises will leave on the global economy, especially the Lebanese economy, which is witnessing one of the worst stages of decline.”
The words of the White Minister came during his speech to Lebanon at the fifty-sixth meeting of the Council of Arab Health Ministers, which was held at the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States in Cairo, and which allocated financial assistance to Lebanon to confront the pandemic.
The Minister of Health thanked the “continued Arab solidarity with Lebanon,” noting that “the Corona pandemic has shown that the health sector is more than vital, that its problems cross borders, and that health systems are an interconnected chain that gains its strength from the strength of its weakest links.”
He declared that “Lebanon, due to its financial crisis and its continued hosting of more than a million displaced people on its land, is witnessing a worrying decline in its health indicators, as the rate of vaccination against polio has declined to fifty-eight percent (58%), which could constitute a danger not at the Lebanese level. Not only at the regional level.”
He also pointed to “the decline in health benefits with the emigration of about forty percent (40%) of the medical and nursing staff, hoping to strengthen Lebanon’s partnerships with Arab countries so that its health services restore the required balance.”
On the sidelines of the meeting, the White Minister held bilateral talks with Jordanian Minister of Health Firas Al-Hawari focused on joint coordination to strengthen national health systems.
Al-Hawari invited Al-Obeid to visit Jordan to see the advanced experience of the Jordanian Food and Drug Agency and to benefit from Jordan’s experiences in the field of automation of the health system.