BEIRUT, 11 October (IRIN) - World Health Organization (WHO) officials in Lebanon say there is an urgent need to repair
health facilities badly damaged in the recent conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the armed wing of a Lebanese political party. WHO says more than a quarter of the health facilities it recently
assessed in Lebanon were badly damaged in the 34-day conflict."The need now is to repair these health centres and other medical facilities as displaced people return to their home towns," said Dr
Alissar Rady, WHO National Professional Officer. At a press briefing coinciding with World Mental Health Day on Tuesday in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, Rady outlined the impact of the conflict
on the health of the population, and WHO's role in responding. "Of 410 facilities assessed, only 51 percent are still functioning, 26 percent are not, and 6 percent are only functioning partially.
We had no access to the last 17 percent of the facilities due to the damage of the infrastructure," Rady said, adding that health facilities in the southern towns of Bint Jbeyl and Marjeyoun were the
worst hit by the conflict. She also said that health agencies' and NGOs' operations were hampered because the extent of the destruction meant they had limited access to affected areas. In addition,
the rapid and high rate of displacement that occurred during the conflict [12 July to 14 August], followed by a hasty return after the ceasefire haS compounded the problems faced by health workers. WHO's representative in Lebanon, Jawad Mahjour, said almost a third of the nearly one million Lebanese forced to flee their homes during the July-August conflict could move from their original homes
in search of schools and services.He said he could not blame people for rushing back home at the end of the conflict but that this quick return had "made it difficult for us to follow up on some of
their cases, especially in terms of mental health care".Rady said that WHO was working closely with the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health on a national plan for mental health problems that could
arise as a result of living through the conflict. She added that although there was no outbreak of infectious diseases during the conflict, there was a need for an early warning system to prevent
any such outbreaks occurring in the future. The most common health conditions found in 21 sites assessed were watery diarrhea, respiratory infections and common injuries. Only one case of hepatitis
A was reported and confirmed by laboratory testing in Tyre, 120 km south of Beirut.Some 1,190 people died in Lebanon and 157 in Israel in the recent conflict. In Lebanon, some 20 deaths and more
than 100 injuries have been caused by remaining unexploded ordnance.mc/ar/cb/ed
