In response to the cholera epidemic in Lebanon, more than 13,000 doses of vaccine donated by a member health company via the Tulipe association were handed over to the local authorities on 31 October. This special operation, coordinated by the Crisis and Support Centre of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, will help to protect Lebanese health workers on the front line.
On 31 October, the very day the 13,000 doses of vaccine were delivered, the WHO warned of a “deadly cholera epidemic” in Lebanon, a country already affected by an unprecedented economic and political crisis. “It has been more than 3 weeks since the beginning of October since the country declared a cholera epidemic. To date, 1,225 cases have been confirmed. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), half of the cases are children under the age of 15. It is important to support Lebanon at a time when medical supplies are still very difficult due to the country’s economic situation”, explains Alexandre Laridan, Director of Operations for the Tulipe association.
Vaccines arrive at Beirut airport
One of the factors contributing to the epidemic is the consumption of contaminated water by families who cannot afford to buy bottled water. On 31 October, the embassy in Beirut handed over all the doses of vaccine to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, which will distribute them in conjunction with the World Health Organisation (WHO), primarily to healthcare workers on the front line of the response. Lebanon has not experienced a cholera epidemic for several years.
An initial operation with the Crisis Centre during the explosion in 2020
The association federating donations from healthcare companies, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, was therefore able to contribute to this operation, which was in response to a request for international aid from Lebanon. This was thanks to a donation from one of its member healthcare companies sent to Lebanon in coordination with the Crisis and Support Centre. Already in August 2020, during the terrible explosions in the port of Beirut, 4 tonnes of medical products had been sent thanks to the same coordination. More recently, at the beginning of June 2022, the Tulipe association made a major donation of health products to Lebanon. This was used to supply the 11 primary healthcare centres run by the Order of Malta in Lebanon.
