{"id":16712,"date":"2026-06-06T14:28:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T14:28:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/the-health-situation-in-shelter-centers-and-among-the-displaced-in-the-city-of-sidon\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T07:56:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T07:56:17","slug":"the-health-situation-in-shelter-centers-and-among-the-displaced-in-the-city-of-sidon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/the-health-situation-in-shelter-centers-and-among-the-displaced-in-the-city-of-sidon\/","title":{"rendered":"The Health Situation in Shelter Centers and Among the Displaced in the City of Sidon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Health Situation in Shelter Centers and Among the Displaced in the City of Sidon<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Wafiq al-Hawari<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

The Ministry of Public Health has informed the Disaster Management unit in the Municipality of Sidon that the primary healthcare centers will be responsible for following up on the health situation of the displaced in the shelter centers in the city of Sidon, which now number around twenty-five. The primary healthcare centers have been assigned to these shelters, with specific days set for medical screening and treatment at each. <\/p>\n\n

Despite the primary healthcare centers’ commitment to visiting the shelter centers, they are unable to provide all the medicines needed to treat patients among the displaced. This forces the associations that run the centers to submit medical prescriptions to the Disaster Management Committee in the Municipality of Sidon in order to secure the medicines the Ministry of Health has not provided. <\/p>\n\n

One source on the health committee in the Municipality of Sidon says: “We collect donations, and sometimes we receive donations of medicine, or money with which we buy the medicines needed and hand them to the management of the relevant center to deliver to the displaced patient. I want to make one thing clear: we cannot meet all of people’s health needs, and not only for financial reasons. We also face other fundamental problems beyond medicine\u2014we need hospital beds, which are unavailable and expensive, and the shelter centers need emergency first-aid equipment and supplies such as blood-pressure monitors, thermometers, and the like.” <\/p>\n\n

The source attributes the real reasons for this situation to the lack of serious preparation to confront the disaster we are living through, and to officials at every level limiting themselves to holding meetings and giving media statements without any practical steps on the ground. The source adds: “The displaced face a problem in the medical procedures the Ministry of Health does not cover, which are costly, as well as essential surgical operations that are unavailable at the government hospital and the Turkish Hospital\u2014the two public hospitals in the city of Sidon. For example, there is no cardiac catheterization and no follow-up for heart-related diseases and surgeries, and the available specialties do not cover all the medical problems the displaced face, on top of the absence of any serious oversight.” <\/p>\n\n

There are promises from the Ministry to provide an MRI machine for the government hospital, and this needs to be expedited to meet the medical needs. There is also a promise to open an ophthalmology department at the Turkish Hospital, which would allow glaucoma surgeries to be performed in the near future. <\/p>\n\n

One activist following the issue of the displaced comments: “The Ministry of Health’s decision stipulates that a displaced person’s treatment be provided free of charge and in full, and this decision needs oversight. Moreover, an insured patient still has to pay the social-security co-payment differences. And when the Ministry of Health’s decision refers to covering one hundred dollars per patient, the patient does not know how that is calculated, since the hospital administration charges thirty-five dollars to open the patient’s file.” <\/p>\n\n

\"The Ministry of Health's decision stipulates that a displaced person's treatment be provided free of charge and in full\"<\/pre>\n\n
The source in the Municipality of Sidon concludes by pointing to the important role the ambulance services play in transporting patients from the shelter centers to the hospitals, noting that these services need ventilators and the oxygen supplied to patients during transfer, as well as the diesel fuel (mazout) the ambulances need to operate, which is not always available.   <\/p>\n\n
The Coalition of Civil Society Institutions in Sidon plays a key role in providing aid and assistance to our people from the South who were forced to flee to the city of Sidon, and many of the shelter centers are overseen by associations belonging to the Coalition. One member of the health committee at the Coalition of Civil Society Institutions says: “We held meetings of the health committee and identified the most pressing needs\u2014chief among them the need for ordinary dispensaries to obtain medicines from the Ministry of Health, just like the primary healthcare centers. The Minister of Health promised us a quantity of medicines for every dispensary serving the displaced, but he has so far failed to keep his promise. The centers also need hospital beds, wheelchairs, and walking aids\u2014all needs for people with special needs\u2014as well as supplies for the ambulances.”           <\/p>\n\n
It appears the Ministry of Health is not giving these demands serious attention. Asked what the Coalition of Institutions is doing, the member replies: “We are in contact with numerous international organizations in the hope that they can meet these needs, and we have written to several of them hoping to achieve positive results in this regard.”    <\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n
After following up on the health situation in the shelter centers, the health committee at the Coalition of Civil Society Institutions reached the following conclusions: <\/p>\n\n
    \n
  • The primary healthcare centers are carrying out their duties in terms of medical screening, distributing available medicines, and monitoring infectious diseases.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The Ministry of Health covers radiology imaging and laboratory tests, as well as oral and dental health, at a rate of 90%. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • As for infectious diseases, the Ministry of Health has provided medicines to combat head lice, to be distributed through the mobile clinics affiliated with the primary healthcare centers, with two bottles allotted to each family.  <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The managements of the shelter centers monitor any disease that may emerge among the displaced, such as scabies, in order to treat it before it spreads.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
    It is worth noting that most civil society associations organize health-awareness sessions\u2014whether the associations responsible for the primary healthcare centers or those running the shelter centers\u2014focusing on topics such as personal and public hygiene, infectious diseases, reproductive health, water safety, and more. Special hygiene kits are distributed to the displaced, along with hygiene kits for the centers themselves, but the quantities are insufficient. It has also become clear that there is a shortage of medicines for cancer patients.         <\/p>\n\n
    Despite some positive signs in the health situation, this does not remove the need for the Ministry of Health to fulfill its responsibilities and provide the required medicines\u2014especially for cancer patients\u2014and to oversee hospital care and ensure its supplies. The crisis is clearly a prolonged one, and it calls for a collective effort to provide the health services our displaced people from the South need.     <\/p>\n\n
    <\/p>\n\n
    <\/p>\n\n
    <\/p>\n\n
    <\/p>\n\n
    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
    The Health Situation in Shelter Centers and Among the Displaced in the City of Sidon Wafiq al-Hawari The Ministry of Public Health has informed the Disaster Management unit in the Municipality of Sidon that the primary healthcare centers will be responsible for following up on the health situation of the displaced in the shelter centers in the city of Sidon, which now number around twenty-five. The primary healthcare centers have been assigned to these shelters, with specific days set for medical screening and treatment at each. Despite the primary healthcare centers’ commitment to visiting the shelter centers, they are unable to provide all the medicines needed to treat patients among the displaced. This forces the associations that run the centers to submit medical prescriptions to the Disaster Management Committee in the Municipality of Sidon in order to secure the medicines the Ministry of Health has not provided. One source on the health committee in the Municipality of Sidon says: “We collect donations, and sometimes we receive donations of medicine, or money with which we buy the medicines needed and hand them to the management of the relevant center to deliver to the displaced patient. I want to make one thing clear: we cannot meet all of people’s health needs, and not only for financial reasons. We also face other fundamental problems beyond medicine\u2014we need hospital beds, which are unavailable and expensive, and the shelter centers need emergency first-aid equipment and supplies such as blood-pressure monitors, thermometers, and the like.” The source attributes the real reasons for this situation to the lack of serious preparation to confront the disaster we are living through, and to officials at every level limiting themselves to holding meetings and giving media statements without any practical steps on the ground. The source adds: “The displaced face a problem in the medical procedures the Ministry of Health does not cover, which are costly, as well as essential surgical operations that are unavailable at the government hospital and the Turkish Hospital\u2014the two public hospitals in the city of Sidon. For example, there is no cardiac catheterization and no follow-up for heart-related diseases and surgeries, and the available specialties do not cover all the medical problems the displaced face, on top of the absence of any serious oversight.” There are promises from the Ministry to provide an MRI machine for the government hospital, and this needs to be expedited to meet the medical needs. There is also a promise to open an ophthalmology department at the Turkish Hospital, which would allow glaucoma surgeries to be performed in the near future. One activist following the issue of the displaced comments: “The Ministry of Health’s decision stipulates that a displaced person’s treatment be provided free of charge and in full, and this decision needs oversight. Moreover, an insured patient still has to pay the social-security co-payment differences. And when the Ministry of Health’s decision refers to covering one hundred dollars per patient, the patient does not know how that is calculated, since the hospital administration charges thirty-five dollars to open the patient’s file.” “The Ministry of Health’s decision stipulates that a displaced person’s treatment be provided free of charge and in full” The source in the Municipality of Sidon concludes by pointing to the important role the ambulance services play in transporting patients from the shelter centers to the hospitals, noting that these services need ventilators and the oxygen supplied to patients during transfer, as well as the diesel fuel (mazout) the ambulances need to operate, which is not always available. The Coalition of Civil Society Institutions in Sidon plays a key role in providing aid and assistance to our people from the South who were forced to flee to the city of Sidon, and many of the shelter centers are overseen by associations belonging to the Coalition. One member of the health committee at the Coalition of Civil Society Institutions says: “We held meetings of the health committee and identified the most pressing needs\u2014chief among them the need for ordinary dispensaries to obtain medicines from the Ministry of Health, just like the primary healthcare centers. The Minister of Health promised us a quantity of medicines for every dispensary serving the displaced, but he has so far failed to keep his promise. The centers also need hospital beds, wheelchairs, and walking aids\u2014all needs for people with special needs\u2014as well as supplies for the ambulances.” It appears the Ministry of Health is not giving these demands serious attention. Asked what the Coalition of Institutions is doing, the member replies: “We are in contact with numerous international organizations in the hope that they can meet these needs, and we have written to several of them hoping to achieve positive results in this regard.” After following up on the health situation in the shelter centers, the health committee at the Coalition of Civil Society Institutions reached the following conclusions: It is worth noting that most civil society associations organize health-awareness sessions\u2014whether the associations responsible for the primary healthcare centers or those running the shelter centers\u2014focusing on topics such as personal and public hygiene, infectious diseases, reproductive health, water safety, and more. Special hygiene kits are distributed to the displaced, along with hygiene kits for the centers themselves, but the quantities are insufficient. It has also become clear that there is a shortage of medicines for cancer patients. Despite some positive signs in the health situation, this does not remove the need for the Ministry of Health to fulfill its responsibilities and provide the required medicines\u2014especially for cancer patients\u2014and to oversee hospital care and ensure its supplies. The crisis is clearly a prolonged one, and it calls for a collective effort to provide the health services our displaced people from the South need.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":16710,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[522,404,383,354,412,355],"tags":[452,347,646,422,363,357],"class_list":["post-16712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-people-of-the-south-speak","category-civil-affairs","category-food-security","category-municipalities","category-the-south-under-the-microscope","category-through-southern-eyes","tag-displacement","tag-lebanon-en","tag-sidon","tag-silat_wassel-en","tag-south","tag-war-en"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":[],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3-54.jpg",2048,900,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3-54.jpg",2048,900,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3-54.jpg",2048,900,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3-54-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3-54-300x132.jpg",300,132,true],"large":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3-54-1024x450.jpg",1024,450,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3-54-1536x675.jpg",1536,675,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3-54.jpg",2048,900,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"\u0648\u0641\u064a\u0642 \u0627\u0644\u0647\u0648\u0627\u0631\u064a","author_link":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/author\/wafiq-elhawary\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"The People of the South Speak<\/a> Civil Affairs<\/a> Food Security<\/a> Municipalities<\/a> The South Under the Microscope<\/a> Through Southern Eyes<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"The Health Situation in Shelter Centers and Among the Displaced in the City of Sidon Wafiq al-Hawari The Ministry of Public Health has informed the Disaster Management unit in the Municipality of Sidon that the primary healthcare centers will be responsible for following up on the health situation of the displaced in the shelter centers…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16712\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}