On December 4, 2024, the Christian Coordination Council held a roundtable discussion at the Council’s headquarters in the Antelias Diocese, in the presence of His Excellency the Minister of Health, Dr. Firas Al-Abyad, His Excellency the Maronite Bishop of Antelias Antoine Bou Najem, and the Council President, Dr. Fouad Abou Nader, alongside Council members and journalist Mr. Jean Aziz. Participants also included Mr. Elias Abou Fadel, Director of Notre-Dame des Secours University Hospital in Jbeil, Mr. Nassib Nasr, Director of Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, Dr. Charaf Abou Charaf, former President of the Lebanese Order of Physicians, Dr. George Ghanem, representing LAU Rizk Hospital, as well as a host of dignitaries, mayors, and local leaders.
The Council President, Dr. Fouad Abou Nader, welcomed the attendees and emphasized that this meeting was part of a series of regular sessions that the Council will hold to monitor the current circumstances, particularly in the southern and Bekaa regions, where many hospitals have gone out of service due to Israeli attacks.
At the start of the symposium, Mr. Rabih Al-Haber presented a statistical report on the human and material losses, as well as the damage to infrastructure, which far exceed the toll of the July 2006 war.
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His Excellency Minister Dr. Firas Al-Abyad elaborated on the activities of the Ministry of Health and the Emergency Committee following the Bourj Hammoud incident and during the war, in securing medical aid. He also discussed the challenges faced in obtaining funding for medications for incurable and chronic diseases. The minister outlined how medications for these conditions were delivered to areas beyond Greater Beirut and Mount Lebanon. He noted that the total medical and pharmaceutical aid received during the war was modest and significantly lower than what had been received after the Beirut port explosion.
A question-and-answer session followed, addressing the living and healthcare challenges faced by the Lebanese people in general, and refugees in particular, stressing the need to legalize mandatory health insurance for all citizens.
The meeting concluded with remarks by His Excellency Bishop Antoine Bou Najem, who called on the government, represented by the Minister of Health, to assume its historical responsibilities in rebuilding the foundations of a state of law and justice.
