The worsening of the economic, social, and political crisis in Lebanon has impacted the healthcare sector, particularly access to medications. Our field studies and home visits to various cities in the diocese have revealed an urgent need for providing families with essential medications. Some medications have become scarce, while others have become unaffordable due to the fluctuation in the exchange rate.
Of the 873 parishioners, 60 suffer from specific health conditions, 57 from incurable diseases, 69 from mental illnesses, and 31 from organic diseases. To support the most vulnerable individuals and families, we have established criteria for our medical aid initiative, including those with chronic incurable diseases who require costly and long-term treatment, elderly individuals living alone without any source of income, and medical centers affiliated with the parish facing a shortage of equipment or medication.
We have established a partnership between Metanoia Listening Center and local pharmacists to secure as many medications as possible. After obtaining the medication names from 50 families, we have covered all or a portion of the cost for 16 families, with payments ranging from $50 to $100 on a case-by-case basis, and provided diaper insurance for 9 families. The families we are assisting reside in 28 villages within the Melkite Catholic Diocese of Sidon and Deir al-Qamar, Sidon-Jezzine-Shouf.
We were overjoyed to see the positive impact of our aid, as some families were able to resume taking their medications after having to stop due to cost. The beneficiaries expressed their gratitude to the Metanoia Listening Center for its honesty and integrity, and have requested that we continue to provide this aid on a monthly basis.
