MSF in Lebanon
Update 27th July
Access to the south of the country remains difficult because shelling and bombardments have destroyed roads and buildings. MSF sent three vans carrying drugs from Beirut to Tyre yesterday (26 July). An MSF surgeon and medical team are working in the town. More medical and surgical equipment is needed, as well as food.
Teams have visited the town of Nabatiye, where 20,000 of the original 60,000 inhabitants have stayed despite severe damage to the town. MSF will supply the local hospital with emergency medical supplies, including drugs needed during surgery.
According to local authorities, there are 42,000 displaced people in the town of Saida. The five hospitals in the city do not appear to be overcrowded but they need medicines for chronic diseases. MSF plans to start running mobile clinics in order to provide medical care.
There are more than 100,000 displaced people in the Shouf region south east of Beirut. Some of them are in a vulnerable situation. Food is being provided by the local community but there is a lack of drinking water. Lebanese medical teams have the capacity to deal with the current medical needs, but they lack medicines for chronic diseases.
MSF sent 80 tonnes of relief goods such as tents, blankets and cooking equipment to Beirut by ferry and started to distribute them in Aley and Beit Ed Dine districts yesterday (26 July).
In Jezzine, MSF has supplied the hospital with drugs and emergency medical material. On top of the city's normal population of 30,000, there are estimated to be about 4,500 people in the town who have fled from the south of the country. MSF has distributed mattresses, blankets, hygiene kits and baby formula to over a thousand displaced people housed in schools. They are continuing to supply relief goods to smaller groups who have sought shelter in private homes and in the area surrounding the town.
In Beirut, about 50,000 displaced people are living in several hundred schools. MSF has started running mobile clinics in eastern Beirut and is collaborating with a local organisation to set up more mobile clinics.
In Syria, MSF is assessing the needs of refugees both in Damascus and in the border areas. A team has started to assist 3000 refugees sheltering in schools, gyms and hangars.
More MSF international staff and supplies are expected to arrive in Syria and Lebanon in the coming days.
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