Care and surgery
Training and skills transfer
Improvingaccess to pediatric surgery
In the face of the continuing crisis in Lebanon, access to healthcare, particularly hospital care, has become a real challenge for a large part of the population. La Chaîne de l'Espoir, which has a long-standing commitment to the country, is launching a program to improve access to pediatric general surgery.
“Today, in Lebanon, a large part of the population no longer has access to hospital health services. If someone needs an operation, they are obliged to take out a loan, mortgage their property or put themselves in an even more vulnerable situation.”
David Ligneau, geographic manager for Near & Middle East, La Chaîne de l’Espoir
A pilot project financed by your donations
In December 2023, La Chaîne de l’Espoir ran a pilot project at the Quarantaine public hospital in the capital Beirut. This was made possible thanks to the generosity of our association’s donors.
“In three weeks, we were able to operate on around 20 children… but over 200 were on the waiting list. It was thanks to this pilot project that we were able to confirm the extent of the needs and develop a larger-scale program”, explains Laëtitia Abelard, head of the Lebanon mission for La Chaîne Liban.explains Laëtitia Abelard, head of the Lebanon mission for La Chaîne de l’Espoir.
Today, thanks to the lessons learned from this pilot project, negotiations with the Lebanese Ministry of Health and local public hospitals, and funding from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Civil Protection and European Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), a comprehensive program to strengthen access to pediatric general surgery has been launched. The project is being carried out in partnership with the Quarantaine hospital in Beirut, as well as the government hospitals in Saïda (southern Lebanon) and Halba (northern Lebanon).
“Historically, we have carried out several projects in Lebanon to improve surgical care for children. Today, however, we are working alongside public health structures. This is a strong choice on the part of La Chaîne de l’Espoir, which will enable us to have a lasting impact on the Lebanese healthcare system, David Ligneau explains.
First operations
This program is based on four pillars. It begins with an awareness campaign to detect neonatal and infant pathologies as early as possible. Next, training of local healthcare professionals is essential to ensure proper care. It also enables children with an identified pathology to benefit from an operation in a public hospital. Finally, psycho-social support is provided to accompany parents and children throughout the process, as well as to support healthcare professionals in their day-to-day practice.
The first surgeries took place in July, and an initial awareness campaign began in August, aiming to inform 5,000 people over the course of the year, along with the first training courses for medical and paramedical teams. This project has been set up with the support of a local partner, ASSAMEH, a Lebanese association based at the Quarantaine hospital.
At least 450 children will benefit from the program this year.
