Our Shifa Clinic in Lebanon opened late last year. How’s it performing?
With a team of doctors in specialities ranging from cardio to paediatrics, the clinic offers an amazing range of services – and served 8,068 patients during January-April. Here’s our team’s report.
Mums & Babies
Last year, UNICEF reported that the number of pregnant mums dying in Lebanon has tripled. The number of babies dying in the first four weeks of life has also doubled. It’s thought that around 40% of doctors have left the country, which has been rocked by economic crisis. In many parts of Lebanon, healthcare is inaccessible.
When we drew up plans for the new Shifa clinic in Shebaa, looking after pregnant mums was high on our list. In the first four months, our doctors have carried out 403 antenatal appointments – helping hundreds of expecting mums to stay healthy.
Free Consultations & Medicine
Have you seen the tour of the clinic on our Instagram pages? It’s an impressive setup with 14 rooms, waiting room, kitchen, and toilets – there’s even a pickup service to help patients access appointments.
We have hired qualified doctors in 10 different specialities including paeds, cardio, gastroenterology and orthopaedics. They’re supported by a wonderful team of nurses and assistants, and an on-site pharmacy. There are even X-ray and Ultrasound facilities so that patients can get important tests done on-site.
Between January and April, our clinic treated a total of 8,068 people (around 68 each day) and gave free medicine to 8,355 people. 913 of them were under the age of 4.
In the first four months, our Emergency Room was very busy. The team treated 2,347 patients for urgent care. An additional 3,129 people came in for treatment for respiratory tract infections (something which has similarly affected the UK in recent months).
Here’s a breakdown of the rest of the appointments:
Vaccination Programme
Basic healthcare is missing for so many people in deprived areas of Lebanon, and that includes routine vaccinations that we might take for granted.
They’re important because they offer effective protection against deadly diseases – so we’re delighted to have vaccinated 91 people in Lebanon since opening the clinic in January. Here’s to many, many more!
Give the gift of healthcare
Fora Torfi raised funds in memory of her brother Ahmed to help us open this Shifa Clinic in Shebaa. If you’d like to make a donation in the name of a loved one, it couldn’t really go to a better cause.
Help us to save the lives of men, women, and children EVERY DAY by providing modern care to this vulnerable community in Lebanon. Donate what you can today.
