Press release

Medair preparing to vaccinate 90,000 people against COVID-19 in Lebanon

Pfizer vaccination rollout happens amidst a dire economic crisis

10 June 2021  /  Lebanon

Abdul Dennaoui

Communications Officer (English, Arabic)
Comms-leb@medair.org

Medair is establishing a COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Saida, South Lebanon to vaccinate 90,000 vulnerable people against COVID-19. Medair is currently preparing the vaccination site at the Turkish Hospital in Saida and will begin vaccinating around 3,000 people every day starting on 14 June.

Medair is one of six INGOs selected to carry out the campaign by Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), who received 1.5 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine at the beginning of June.

‘The MoPH approached a number of health-related NGOs, asking for support. Due to the dire situation in Lebanon right now, they unfortunately do not have the resources needed to run a mass vaccination campaign,’ says Farah Darwiche, Medair’s Health Project Manager.

‘This is the kind of work that we specialise in: running large-scale emergency vaccination campaigns that will save lives. We are very happy that we can put our years of expertise in this field to make a big difference to vulnerable families in Lebanon,’ she adds.

In addition to administering vaccinations, Medair will help equip the Turkish Hospital in Saida to ensure it complies with World Health Organization vaccine regulations – including equipping the centre with a freezer to maintain the vaccine cold-chain – and ensure that the hospital can manage distancing, patient flow, confidentiality, and privacy for both staff and people being vaccinated.

As of 4 June 2021, Lebanon reported more than half a million COVID-19 cases (540,844), since the beginning of the pandemic. The vaccine roll-out has been slow: In a country of more than six million people, only 700,000 have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Lebanon is facing a series of compounding crises, including severe economic downturn, political instability, the aftermath of the Beirut Blast in August 2020, and the ongoing crisis in neighbouring Syria. These compounding crises have led to an economic downturn that is placing significant strain on Lebanon’s health infrastructure and preventing many of the most vulnerable people in the country from earning a living. This vaccination campaign will help bring an end to the pandemic in Lebanon, protecting the ability of many to begin earning a living again.

For interviews, photos, and b-roll, please contact:

Abdul Dennaoui, Communications Officer (English, Arabic)

comms-leb@medair.org | +961 81 998 236

 

Medair’s health work in Lebanon is made possible with the financial support of the European Union through the European Union Regional Trust Fund ‘MADAD’, and Global Affairs Canada in partnership with Tearfund Canada and Transform Aid International.

For more information about Medair’s Lebanon programme, please click here.