Recently qualified health educators in Majdal Anjar receive their breastfeeding training certificates
Local health system strengthening in Lebanon
16 May 2023
You may have seen that the ReBUILD for Resilience team is working at a learning site in Majdal Anjar in Lebanon. There we are collaborating with local stakeholders and community-based partners to help co-develop and implement innovative interventions to deliver inclusive, gender-equitable and quality healthcare in the country.
Health committee launch
One of the innovations already in place is the formation of the Majdal Anjar Municipality Health Committee. Its aim is to strengthen health system governance in the municipality, with a vision to be a role model in Lebanon and beyond for the development of healthy societies by decentralised administrations. To achieve this, the Municipality Health Committee will manage the local health sector, improving services and providing comprehensive, equitable and high-quality facilities for all residents of Majdal Anjar. The committee was officially launched on 5th March 2023 with attendees including the Minister of the Environment, Dr Nasser Yassin, Mayor of Majdal, Anjar Saeed Yassin, and His Eminence Mufti Zahleh, Dr Ali Al Ghazawi, as well as many local stakeholders and representatives from AUB and LSTM.
Members of the Majdal Anjar Municipality Health Committee run a breastfeeding education session in Omar Al-Ajami refugee camp
Breastfeeding promotion
Members of the team are currently engaged in a grassroots breastfeeding promotion programme. Twenty municipality health educators (see top image) received the necessary training before conducting visits to health facilities and refugee camps. There they are providing health education sessions to all recently married, pregnant and lactating women on the benefits of breastfeeding and dealing with the challenges. The sessions have been really well received so far and there are plans to expand the reach to include home visits and dispensaries.
We’ll be updating you on further news from the learning site as the work progresses, but in the meantime you might like to follow the Majdal Anjar Municipality Health Committee Facebook page and Instagram account [both open new tabs] for photos and the latest updates on their work.