Location: Lebanon - Tripoli and Nahr El Bared and Baddawi Palestinian camps

Situation:

Lebanon is one of the main host countries for Palestinian refugees. Of these, 53% live in 12 official camps, under the auspices of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). This is also one of the  countries where the living conditions for this population are hardest. UNRWA provides primary care in the camps. Since 2007, Doctors of the World (DOW) has been providing support to enable access to mental healthcare, which had been non-existent before.

Activities:

DOW's programme takes place in two refugee camps, with provision of psychiatric and psychological consultations in UNRWA clinics. The focus is on expanding the scope of mental health training, started in 2008, for UNRWA and Palestinian Red Crescent health workers and on the training of local organisations' support workers. The objective is to enable early detection of patients, and to refer patients and help them to reintegrate into their communities when their conditions have been stabilised. Finally, there is a campaign of awareness-raising and destigmatisation among the general public. In 2009, as a result of the program 5,816 consultations and home visits were carried out.

Outlook:

We want to ensure the long-term continuity of this psychiatric and psychological care. In 2010, the objective is to create the ideal  conditions for our health partners working in the camp to take over the activities, while ensuring continuity of care for the service users.