This project will alleviate the suffering of the most vulnerable families in Lebanon, by reducing catastrophic out-of-pocket expenses for healthcare, and by ensuring that the free national health services of the Lebanese Red Cross (ambulance emergency response and blood transfusion), remain functional despite the loss of all local funding. Every year, more than half a million persons benefit from free healthcare services provided by the Lebanese Red Cross all over the country. Help us continue!
Since 2019, 80% of the population in Lebanon has been pushed into poverty because of what is often called the worst economic crisis in recent times. The Lebanese currency has lost 95% of its value. This means that the minimum wage is now less than 30USD per month. One of the consequences is that people no longer can afford basic healthcare and medicine.
The Lebanese Red Cross operates 36 Primary Health Centers throughout Lebanon. In 2021, 66,000 patients visited our centers to consult doctors and obtain needed medicine. Our goal is to raise this to more than 200,000 patients per year, so that we can ensure that people who need it the most have access to doctors and medicine. We also strive to keep our free ambulance and blood services up and running, as they provide vital life-saving services to more than 200,000 persons per year.
Families that have a healthcare crisis and have to pay catastrophic out-of-pocket expenses to save the life of a child or parent, often do so at the expense of putting food on the table, or by removing their children from the school system. Supporting vulnerable families with access to free, quality healthcare will contribute to reduce these negative coping strategies, and will also improve patient outcomes.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
