NNA - President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, stressed that overcoming the severe economic crisis facing Lebanon requires coordination and work together between all official and private institutions of society.

"I hope after the formation of the new government that a real solution to the crises we face, including in the medical sector, will be reached” the President said.

President Aoun also praised the efforts made by the medical sector and the Lebanese Order of Physicians to strengthen the resilience of this sector and stop the human bleeding it is exposed to.

The President’s stances came while meeting a delegation from the new council of the Lebanese Order of Physicians in Beirut.

The delegation was headed by Head of Syndicate Professor Youssef Bakhash, who started the meeting with the following speech:

“We have the honor to visit you, Mr. President, to get acquainted first and to express our appreciation for what you are doing for the sake of this tormented country in light of successive existential crises and a financial and social siege that is almost destroying what is left of this country.

Your Excellency, we feel as you do the depth of the economic crisis after the gradual collapse of all production sectors after the collapse of the banking and monetary sector, in addition to the health sector, which is on the verge of collapse and the most dangerous is the collapse of society.

Mr. President, it has become our urgent duty to warn against the collapse of the health sector, which is ultimately the backbone of life.  

The health sector suffers from challenges that we may not be able to get out of unless efforts are combined and we move quickly to save what can be saved.  

The health sector is on the verge of collapse in light of the emigration of the veteran generation of doctors in search of a decent life and lost dignity.

In the context of talking about the migration of the medical body, we are talking about about three thousand male and female doctors and more than five thousand male and female nurses.  

The reasons must be explained quite frankly, most notably:

- The guarantors, and here I mean social security and many insurance companies that still pay the doctor in Lebanese pounds and according to the official exchange rate. This means that the doctor still receives less than five dollars for some medical work, in addition to seizing his money with banks and disposing of union savings, as well as not updating the medical ethics laws and approving the doctor’s immunity. This project has been dormant in the administration and justice committee for quite some time.

- Loss of medicines, pricing of medical materials in hard currency, and lifting of subsidies on most medicines, until the prices of some of the necessary ones exceed the minimum wage.

-Delaying the payment of doctors' and hospitals' dues.

- Unresolved financial problems that affect the hospitals and citizens.

We will not dwell on problems and crises, and everyone knows them, and we will search together, with your guidance, Mr. President, for immediate and quick solutions to save this vital sector before it is too late. We are fully prepared to cooperate and give advice if necessary, for health means every citizen and the whole country”.

Mr. Bakhash Statement:

After the meeting, Mr. Bakhash addressed the press with the following statement:

“We were honored today to visit His Excellency the President of the Republic as Head and members of the Lebanese Order of Physicians in Beirut.

We discussed all the economic problems and crises facing Lebanon, especially in the health sector. 

Today, this sector faces fateful and existential challenges, the most prominent of which is the medical bleeding we are experiencing and the migration of medical personnel.

Unfortunately, the number of doctors who have left Lebanon today has reached 3,000, while the number of nurses who have left has reached about 5,000. 

We discussed the reasons that brought matters to this extent, including the inability of the guarantors to assume their responsibilities and financial benefits.

We also tackled the issue of medical supplies that are sold according to the exchange rate of the dollar in the parallel market, and the lifting of subsidies on medicines, as it has become impossible for the Lebanese citizen to be able to obtain medicine, and this affects his healing ability.  

We, as a medical union, have put all our experiences and capabilities at the disposal of His Excellency the President, and we are all ready to provide studies and consultations if necessary, so that we can together stand by this sector to remain steadfast, because in the end health means every person and the whole country, and it is the backbone of the Lebanese state”.

Questions & Answers:

Question: What are the solutions offered?  Is there any thought of resorting to international bodies to support the health sector in Lebanon?

Answer: “Before we go to the guarantors or the international bodies, we, as a syndicate and as a new syndicate council, must stand by the Lebanese citizen, thinking, of course, about the doctor’s income. 

This income will be studied in a way that secures the preservation of the doctors’ steadfastness and their survival in Lebanon.  

We see today that the majority of patients do not go to hospitals. We spoke with His Excellency the President about how to resort to international institutions, especially in emergency cases, such as cases of necessary medical supplies for dialysis patients, where we can reach, within weeks, and this is what we do not wish, to a total lifting of support for these supplies, and this will constitute a health disaster.

To anticipate this problem, we will study how to resort to international organizations and institutions to be able to cover these requirements. Of course, there are other problems in all aspects of the health sector”.

Question: Is there a directive to unify the medical tariff?

Answer: “Of course, we will work to standardize the tariff, which also differs between a general practitioner and a specialist. The union will focus on this subject to standardize the medical tariff”.

MP Major General Al-Sayed:

The President met MP, Major General Jamil El-Sayed and discussed with him general affairs and recent developments.  

MP Al-Sayed said that he discussed the visit of the American mediator in the indirect negotiations to demarcate the southern maritime border, Amos Hochstein, "especially since the Lebanese position has become clear, and the President of the Republic emphasized it in terms of not compromising the Lebanese marine wealth, and we will wait for the results of Hochstein's movements, knowing that this file is essential to ensure the interest of Lebanon, especially in light of the current economic conditions”.  

MP Al-Sayed stressed to the need to form a new government that exercises its full powers, "And this matter must be done quickly because the situation can no longer tolerate any vacuum as a result of caretaker business, especially the launch of economic treatment and negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, in addition to the situation that emerged in the ongoing negotiations through the American intermediary”. -- Presidency Press Office

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