"The crisis effects are felt across the board, of course, not just in education. Zeina Hassan, who works with the International Medical Corps, which focuses on health and mental health needs, argues that Lebanese infrastructure is at the breaking point. Some villages have more Syrians than Lebanese. “In the Bekaa Valley, some hospitals are out of beds,” she warns. “There is fear of cholera outbreak in informal tented settlements that have sprung up everywhere and there is a lack of water and hygiene.” Health workers are worried that a public health catastrophe could break out at any moment, especially in the informal tented settlements in the Bekaa. Hassan points out that NGOs and other relief organizations are so overwhelmed with immediate needs that they have no chance to think long-term. They are too busy to take such simple steps as investing in a two-year program to train Syrians to provide basic mental health -- a way of both reducing costs and providing skills development down the road. "Hassan’s conclusions support the idea that the crisis in Lebanon cannot be solved through humanitarian assistance alone. The refugees are too many and too desperate, and they are likely to stay for too long. As attention to Syria fades, so will the well of funding run dry. The solution must come through a combination of investment in longer-term development and attention to immediate humanitarian needs. There are signs that international organizations are making this shift, particularly in the UN."
Posted on: Sat, 28 Sep 2013 00:24:54 +0000
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