Caretaker Health Minister Firass Abiad during a visit to Baalbeck on Dec. 26, 2022. (Courtesy of: Sarah Abdallah)
BEIRUT — Caretaker Health Minister Firass Abiad on Monday said that the cholera outbreak that started in Lebanon in October "might have positive repercussions" to the extent that it highlights to international aid providers the "dire situation" of public facilities and infrastructure in the country.
During a visit to the Baalbeck-Hermel region, accompanied by representatives of UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and various NGOs to inspect the evolution of the second stage of the cholera vaccination campaign, Abiad said during a press conference that the priority is "to continue implementing cholera measures in cooperation with international organizations, health workers and the employees of the ministry because the outbreak is not finished."
"We still see contamination spots here and there," he added, calling for continued efforts to "protect our communities" against the disease.
Abiad also highlighted the global shortage of cholera vaccines due to "the spread of the outbreak in 30 countries." He, however, noted that Lebanon received 800,000 vaccines earlier this month, adding that "we have to make use of [these vaccines] to provide protection for everyone."
During his press conference, Abiad also said that the cholera outbreak "might have positive repercussions by shedding light on the dire situation of water facilities, public services, waste infrastructure and sewage networks so that we can ask international organizations for more support for Baalbeck-Hermel [and] Akkar, which bear the greatest burden due to the displacement [of Syrian refugees], and therefore deserve the most support."
Abiad also called on the international organizations "to assume their responsibility and support Lebanon more, because the needs are increasing, especially amid the presence of Syrian refugee camps on our land."
Lebanon on Sunday recorded no new cholera cases or deaths in the previous 24 hours, keeping the total number of cases at 666 and deaths at 23.
This is the first cholera outbreak in Lebanon since 1993.