Here's a glimpse of what we do
The framework of the round tables that are regularly organized By “100% Liban” consists of relaunching the dialogue between the various decision-makers and actors of the Lebanese economy.
“100% Liban” welcomed the Minister of Health Dr. Firas Al Abiad as a member of the round table and along side the main stakeholders in the field of health and care, and launched a new cycle of work in Action. Furthermore, a work Cycle will continue working on plans previously set or in preparation.
This cycle tackles the problems and challenges of the health sector from different angles. This makes it
possible to prepare concrete recommendations to be integrated into more global framework of the development of a rescue and recovery plan for the economy with the emphasis of focus on the private sector will be the main concern.
The session was moderated by Mr. Fady Rahmé and Elias Kassab from”100% Lebanon” next to the Minister of Health Dr. Firas Al Abiad.
The main participants and speakers:
-Dr Charaf Abou Charaf / President of the Order of Physicians
-Mr.Sleiman Haroun / President of the Syndicate of Private Hospitals
-Mrs. Salma Assi / President of the union of importers of medical and laboratory equipment
-Mr. Mohammad Jaber / General Secretary of the Syndicate of Pharmacists
-Mr Georges El Hajj / President of the Federation of Bank Employees’ Unions
– Mr. Elie Nasnas / President of the Association of Insurance Companies in Lebanon (ACAL)
– Mr. Jamil Harb / General Secretary of Insurance Companies in Lebanon
– Professor Pierre Yared / General Director of the Lebanese Geitaoui Hospital
-Mr. Richard Haykal / CEO of Haykal Hospital
– Mr. Nassib Nasr / GeneraL Director of Hôtel Dieu de France Hospital
-Dr. Zuhair Al-Imad/ General Director of Ain W Zain Hospital and Al Jabal Hospital
– Dr. Joseph Frangieh / General Director of Zgharta Public Hospital
-Mgr Estéphan Frangieh / General Director of Notre Dame de Zgharta Hospital
– Mr. Abdel Latif El Yawafi / General Director of Al Sahel Hospital
-Mrs. Etoile Matar and Mr. Roni Dano /representatives of Notre Dame De Secours-Jbeil hospital
– Dr Abed el Salam Hasbini / Member of the “Irada” association and head of the medical commission
– Mr. Mazen Chbaro / Member of the “Irada” Association
Health Minister Dr. Firas Al-Abiad, raised the issue of the cost and quality of health in Lebanon which are severely threatened by the drastic reduction in GDP which has deteriorated over the past two years.
Doctor Al-Abiad expressed his fears about the continuity of the current conditions of the health system.
Moreover, some international institutions have started promoting the idea of a need for Lebanon to return to a more limited level of medical services.
Due to this, Lebanon may lose its leading position in the region and become a marginal country.
Minister Al Abiad listed the obstacles that the health system is facing, including the political class who works to postpone dealing with the problems instead of solving them, and the angry population who refuses to wait for the reform.
This is probably due to the lack of a culture of cooperation between stakeholders and citizens.
Abiad concluded by wishing for cooperation between all parts of the health sector to solve existing problems and prepare to face the challenges of the years to come.
In his speech, the President of the Lebanese Order of Physicians Dr.
Charaf Abou Charaf, considered that it was urgent to support the private sector, which has proven its success in the management of the health sector, and affirmed that it is favorable to build a cooperation between the public and private sectors in order to reduce costs and obtain better results.
Abou Charaf stressed the issue of restoring confidence in the health sector with the necessity of diverging from politics and focusing on its development.
The president of the union of private hospitals in Lebanon Sleiman Haroun, revealed that it is impossible to go back thirty years
despite the serious crisis that the country is going through in general and the health sector in particular, because we are armed citizens of science, will and activity.
The President of the Association of Insurance Companies in Lebanon, Mr. Elie Nasnas, regrets the decline of the health sector in terms of deterioration in the quality of services, which prevents Lebanon from maintaining its position in the Middle East. Despite the significant difficulties, Nasnas expressed the will to continue the dealing with the struggles and to accept the changes that have occurred.
Mr. Nasnas specified that private guarantors and Insurance Companies will be able to offer solutions to face the challenges of the future.
The Director General of Notre-Dame de Zgharta Hospital, Mgr Estéphan Frangieh appealed to the State to impose the health card and wished to stop populist decisions by perceiving the collapse of the health sector.
The participants agreed to continue the health file through the device put in place and following the coordination of “100% Lebanon”.
Dr. Walid Ammar, current adviser to the Ministry of Health will be welcomed accordingly following the Minister’s proposal.
100% Liban and Mrs.Martine Abi Khalil Afif organized a roundtable on: "Urgent Health Reforms For A New System To Save Lives".
The participants :MP Dr. Fadi Alame, Dr. Joe Salloum, Mrs. Martine Abi Khalil Afif, Mr.Nassib Nasr, Mr.Rony Abdel Hay, Mr.Fady Rahme, Dr. Nassib Ghobril, Dr.Elias Kassab, Dr.Mohammad Fheili, Mrs. Pamela Ibrahim El Kosseifi, Mrs. Carole Karam, Mr.Georges Khoury, representing medical and health care professionals, social workers and members of 100% Liban talked about the needs for this project.
The discussions were about different topics related to health sector, however the experts explained the key factors that will help to achieve the recovery plan, to save hospitals and to ensure medications. They defined the roadmap for a survival mode and than a restructuring plan.
A policy paper will be prepared soon by all the participants along with the experts of 100% Liban.
A third health table, organized by 100% Liban on August 16th, brought together experts in environmental health to examine the challenges that Lebanon is currently experiencing in this particular area. The session's moderator was Mrs. Martine Abi Khalil, CEO of Biomak, and the main guest speaker was:
- Nasser Yassine – Minister of environment
And the specialists speakers:
- André Khoury, associate professor at USJ- Expert in Mycotoxicology & Food safety
- Hassan Dheini, assistant professor at AUB- Expert in toxicology
- Charbel Afif, Professor at USJ- Expert in air pollution
- Mey Jurdi, Professor of Environmental Health at AUB
In order to kick off a new cycle of work in Action, "100% Liban" welcomed Dr. Nasser Yassine, Minister of the Environment, to the round table along with the experts in the environmental health industries. The discussion revolved around the inter-connectivity between health and environment, cost, impact, prevention and mitigation.
The issues and difficulties facing the environmental health industry are addressed from many perspectives in this cycle. This enables the preparation of a mutual economic rescue and recovery plan.
The minister of environment Dr. Nasser Yassine stated that many environmental problems may be resolved via governance, which is why these round tables are crucial for developing particular solutions to protect the environment. To create a healthy environment in Lebanon, there should be interaction between the public and private sectors.
The private sector can boost safety and preventative measures against pollution.
Pr. Mey Jurdi discussed the plan she proposed to the WHO (world health organization). She noted that although we offer the facts about water sanitation and air pollution, the data is not verified. She talked about enhancing our verification process and developing water safety plans.
Dr. Hassan Dheini stated that Lebanon has the highest percentage of cancer patients in the Middle East (almost 13,000 new patients each year). The root causes are either inherited, environmental, or lifestyle-related. And the top 3 environmental pollutants are: smoking (cigars, shisha, etc), Diesel consumption…
Pr. Charbel Afif asserted that the growth in car ownership, generators, and industries are the main sources of pollution. According to recent studies, 40 to 50 percent of Lebanon's highly polluted air comes from its neighboring nations rather than the country itself.
Dr. Andre Khoury made a point to highlight how Lebanese people disregard the risk of food safety and how we are undereducated in this area, claiming that there are billions of infections that can come from unhealthy (under-cooked, old, rotten...) food and develop in a body that will reveal the symptoms later in life. The food safety process is being impacted by corruption in Lebanon, and many foods imported or even exported are not certified.
100% Liban aim to build bridges between actors of the private sector to create a unify vision toward a better Lebanon.
A roundtable entitled: “The pharmaceutical sector during the Lebanese healthcare crisis: present facts and the way forward” organized by 100% Liban, moderated by Mrs. Martine Abi Khalil, under the patronage of the Head of order of Pharmacists Dr. Joe Salloum and MP Dr. Fadi Alame, CEO of Sahel Hospital.
The session gathered members of the World Health Organization, the Parliamentary Health Committee, companies, factories, economists and bankers, in the health conference.
The following topics were tackled:
1- Pharmaceutical sector: facts and actual situation
2- Implemented solutions since 2019
3- Proposed solutions on short, medium and long terms: the way forward
Dr. Joe Salloum, pointing to the pain of the issue of missing cancer drugs and counterfeit medicines, which have turned into a lethal poison endangering citizens, investigated the possibility of a hidden agenda so that Lebanon stays a victim of bag traffickers and the black market.
Considering that the sorrow is to preserve the health of the patient and the citizen, Dr. Salloum saw that the drug card is the case and the sequential system is the core of this card and the goal is to preserve the pharmaceutical sector, factories and companies, and the quality of drugs.
Dr. Fadi Alame discussed the need to create and carry out an extensive pharmacological health strategy while also promoting the local pharmaceutical sector and generic medications.
The most important proposed solutions were the following:
- Lifting support for all medicines
- Combining drug guarantee funds
- Get rid of medication duplication
- Donors for manufacturing countries
All these subjects will be tackled in an upcoming policy paper that 100% Liban aim sto issue after a series of round tables.
A round table discussion entitled: ''Financing Universal Health Coverage in Lebanon: Which Model?” organized by 100% Liban and moderated by Mrs. Martine Abi Khalil, founder of Biomak took place on the 8th of November 2022.
The participants were:
- Deputies,
- Members of the Health Organization,
- Members of insurance companies,
- Economists,
- Members of 100%Lebanon,
The keynote speakers were:
- Mr. Naji Haddad, founder&ceo of legacy builders
- Mrs. Alexandra Abou Faysal, business development manager of metLife
The following topics were discussed:
1- The current financing model: facts and challenges.
2- The proposed remedies and the way forward.
The intervention of Dr. Elie Nasnas, CEO of AXA, was about the importance of the subject of health and the need to unite efforts in this field to be able to guarantee medical care to everyone.
Therefore, the participants agreed that a solution to cover the population through private insurance must be found.
The following points were about the various solutions proposed to achieve universal health coverage:
1- Employee benefit packages from insurance companies.
2- Present the temporary PPP idea to replace guarantors and insurance for a period of time.
3- Switch from a secondary to a primary health care system.
What we need to do is create a map that covers the majority of the population and find a good governance and financing model to present to the parliament to legislate new laws and regulations.
100% Liban aims to build bridges between actors of the private sector in order to create a unified vision for a better Lebanon; thus, all of these topics will be addressed in an upcoming policy paper based on the previous series of roundtables and the upcoming ones.