Lebanon

International Medical Corps has played a key role in providing relief to vulnerable people in Lebanon since 2006. Following the 2011 outbreak of armed conflict in Syria, we expanded our programming to meet the basic health and mental health needs of Syrians who sought refuge in Lebanon. We also stepped up our services to respond to the impacts of the financial and economic crisis in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Beirut port explosion and the 2022 cholera outbreak. Today, our activities address the needs of refugees and vulnerable Lebanese throughout the country. We also are helping the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by fighting in the south, and are supporting efforts by the country’s overwhelmed healthcare system to serve them.

Healthcare

International Medical Corps ensures access to quality healthcare services for Syrian refugees, migrants, vulnerable Lebanese and other at-risk people. We do this by supporting a network of more than 50 primary healthcare clinics (PHCCs) and dispensaries across the country, focusing on disease prevention and health maintenance. These health services include routine consultations for common diseases, diagnostic testing, immunisations, referrals, management and reporting of communicable diseases, antenatal care packages, non-communicable disease packages, and screening and assessment for malnutrition and for growth and development. The services we support also include wellness and preventive health benefit packages for children and adults, specialized health services for people with disabilities (PwDs), and homecare services for older people and PwDs.

Enhancing national primary-care capacity is a priority for International Medical Corps. We procure medications based on the essential medication list of the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and work closely with PHCCs to ensure that medications are prescribed and dispensed safely and rationally. We also build the capacity of supported PHCCs by coordinating structured training sessions and day-to-day on-site coaching and support, as well as providing financial incentives through a performance-based financing arrangement. This approach improves the quality of services at each facility, helping them maintain their status as members of the MoPH’s Primary Health Care Network and preparing them to meet accreditation requirements in the future.

Awareness-raising and health education through community health clubs are key components of our plan to improve community health-seeking behaviours, limit the spread of infectious diseases, minimise primary and secondary healthcare costs and improve health outcomes. We identify volunteers from local areas and provide them with in-depth training and field coaching to expand outreach in communities, enabling them to become health outreach volunteers who serve as a vital link between PHCCs and the community. They provide referrals and follow-ups for refugees and vulnerable Lebanese in homes, informal settlements and shelters, as well as in schools and underserved neighbourhoods.

We also coordinate with local and international partners to organise health campaigns across the country, educating communities through interactive health and hygiene awareness sessions and distributing hygiene and feminine kits.

Primary Healthcare Services

Women and girls in Lebanon continue to be affected by GBV, with early marriage, domestic violence, sexual violence (rape and sexual assault) and sexual exploitation representing the most common forms of violence. Unfortunately, most GBV goes unreported due to the fear, shame and stigma that burden many survivors.

International Medical Corps’ programmes take an integrated approach to supporting women and girls who are affected by or at risk of GBV, particularly those who face heightened vulnerabilities due to conflict, displacement and socioeconomic instability. Our priority is to strengthen core services—particularly case management and psychosocial support services—for GBV survivors, and to provide access to quality healthcare. To prevent future GBV incidents, we also work with communities to address protection risks, combat harmful practices and work toward social and behavioural change. Through our programmes, we help develop best practices and standards around GBV prevention and response.

We work with local organisations and female community leaders to address risks and deliver quality, focused support services for GBV survivors through community centres and safe spaces for women and girls. We also work with communities to promote gender equality and combat beliefs and practices that perpetuate different forms of GBV. In particular, we engage men and boys on concepts of gender equality and help transform harmful attitudes into behaviours that demonstrate respect and support for gender equality.

Mental Health and Psychosocial Support

Since starting operations in Lebanon, International Medical Corps has played a leading role in delivering comprehensive mental health programming. We have expanded access to MHPSS services by training primary healthcare providers on topics ranging from detection and referral to the World Health Organization’s Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP). This enables primary healthcare providers to detect, refer, diagnose and treat mild to moderate mental disorders, integrating mental health into the services they offer.

Working with more than 20 partner PHCCs, we provide ongoing support to PHCC nurses and mhGAP-trained doctors to enhance screening and management of mild to moderate mental health cases, in line with the packages developed by the MoPH’s National Mental Health Program (NMHP).

Based in primary healthcare and community centres, multidisciplinary case management teams provide free treatment, including specialised services and psychotropic medications when needed. We also refer cases when needed.

To mitigate the risk of inter- or intra-communal tensions, we continue to conduct focus group discussions with community members from different nationalities, genders and age groups to ensure that programmes and activities respond to the needs of different populations (including PwDs) while mainstreaming protection into social-stability activities. Our psychosocial support activities—such as community support-group interventions focusing on enhancing social connectedness—are designed to raise awareness of mental health issues and provide people with the resources they need to help themselves and those around them.

International Medical Corps coordinates closely with the NMHP on various activities and services. This programme provides national guidelines and policies for mental health services in Lebanon. Our partnership enables the integration of mental health into primary healthcare and improves the national supply chain of psychotropic medications to PHCCs.