Health
By default, health is a sector
in constant evolution. Though Lebanon has among the best hospitals and physicians
of the region, there are still big disparities between the public and the private
sector.
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The country must take the time to meet international standards and above all,
to grant access for all to the proper health care. Before the war, Lebanon was
considered to have the best health care in the region. However other countries
in the region have improved their health care systems considerably while Lebanon
was going through hard times.
The access to care costs are among the highest in the region which obviously
makes it difficult to re-attract Arab patients. Programs have been implemented
in order to attribute accreditation to hospitals meet and follow international
standards. The entire sector is under the supervision of the Ministry of Public
Health. Though medicine is mainly imported, some production units are established
in the country.
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Intensive care and treatment do not represent
the whole health sector; the emergence of plastic surgery in Lebanon and the interest that
Lebanese surgeons have shown in this speciality are attracting more and more patients
from Lebanon and abroad. |
The paramedical sector is also very active and this segment is probably one of
the most profitable. Due to the special care that the Lebanese are giving to their
well being and to the sustained domestic demand, importers have extended their
market to neighbouring countries where the growth potential for para-pharmaceutical
products is still very high.
Lebanon boasts the highest rate of physicians per capita in the Middle East,
and treatment in every speciality is available in the country. Universities train
very skilled physicians and investments have been made in order to lower the health
care price level. Recovering the health sector's positive image to foreigners
that prevailed before the war is a challenge that may never be achieved. However
above all, health is a right and nobody will deny that accessing it is more important
that material benefiting from it.
Yann Rotil
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