The head of the Parliamentary Health Committee, Representative Bilal Abdullah, thanked “everyone who contributed to resolving the hospitalization dilemma in yesterday’s cabinet session, without which there would have been a great danger affecting all patients’ families, dialysis patients, cancer diseases and incurable diseases, and outside the frameworks of political rivalries,” considering that “The Health Committee was united in this direction. We insisted on the Council of Ministers, even if it had one item on its agenda. We consider the health of citizens and their health and drug security above all considerations and above all political standards and disputes, and even above the constitution. This is a fundamental issue, and we are in a committee Health We held a workshop and asked all countries friendly to Lebanon to extend a helping hand, and we set a list of cooperation with the Ministry of Health in this file, and the positive responses of some countries began to communicate with questions and inquiries.
In his statement, after the meeting of the committee, Abdullah pointed out that “I had to present before the committee an official letter from the Islamic Republic of Iran stating their willingness to provide 22 medicines for cancerous and incurable diseases. I will refer this issue through the presidency of the council, of course, to the Ministry of Health for its decision.”
He added, “Our main issue today is this low level that medical cosmetic surgery has reached in Lebanon, after we had completed the regulation of this practice, in coordination with the Ministry of Health and the concerned syndicates and associations. We were able, at a minimum, to establish legal and regulatory frameworks that take into account the scientific standards linked to Lebanon’s reputation.” And the level of medicine in it, which was, is, and will remain a milestone in the prosperity of Lebanon, and God willing, it will remain after it emerges from its current slump.”
He continued: “But unfortunately, the economic collapse and social mobility that occurred and the loss of the state’s prestige in our country is as bad as it was before the law. Today, there are cosmetics sold in the Lebanese market that are unlicensed and do not meet the scientific requirements. Unfortunately, we do not know who distributes or imports them and for whose benefit, and they are given to impersonators.” Whether they are Lebanese or non-Lebanese, they are not scientifically qualified for medical work, and you know that the injection that contains a medicine has a responsibility, any injection that can lead to death if the preparation is not correct and lead to complications and infections, and this is what we see every day.
He added: “Every groomer, every unemployed person, and every doctor who fails in his specialty has resorted to cosmetic medicine. Our meeting today is thanks to the Ministry of Health with the concerned unions and associations to set regulations for the law and existing standards. Medical cosmetic surgery is limited to four specializations: dermatologists, plastic surgeons, Ear, nose and throat surgeons, and jaw surgeons, this law, which was completed in 2017, took into account all international scientific standards. Therefore, this is everyone’s responsibility, on us as doctors, on the Health Committee, and on the Ministry of Health to implement it.”
Abdullah pointed out, “We know the difficulties in the ministry, and we asked it to keep up with this file, and it has shown every willingness to control this outbreak of types of cheap and unknown-source preparations that we do not know if they are injected to this or that person, what will be the result. The most dangerous thing is that we present the reputation of Lebanon and medicine.” It is in danger after we were in Al-Sharq Hospital, this voice we raised today loudly, and the request was for Prime Minister Nabih Berri to follow up on this file after he received many complaints, and we thank the Minister of Health when he learned about this issue, and he promised to take all the required measures, and sent us the concerned people. And they have to take responsibility, and there is a decision taken to control this file, and every impersonator and speculator in ads and on social media will pay the price, we will pursue him. This is a decision taken at an official level, in coordination with Speaker Berri, the Ministry of Health, the Health Committee and the concerned unions.”