This sense of security, the Lebanese young lady managed to gain it back thanks to the support of the EU-funded primary healthcare clinic that provided her with the medical attention and psychological care she needed to recover from her trauma. Desperate and looking for help, the young woman had stumbled upon the clinic run by the International Medica Corps in collaboration with Premiere Urgence Internationale and Fundacion Promocion Social. “I contacted the team and set an appointment. After I met with a psychiatrist, we agreed on a treatment plan and I started getting better.” Although she admits she “is not the same person I was before the blast, things have started to get back to normal.” “I wake up every day with a new goal,” she admits with a timid bright smile, adding “now, I feel like I am in control and able to focus again.” The young woman encourages anyone with a problem affecting their life -whatever their background- to seek mental health services, with no shame.

Overcoming barriers towards equal care

Just like Jinan, Karim had lost all hopes of getting better a few years back. “I had been to different psychology centres when I was younger but no one really helped me or knew how to treat me properly,” the young Lebanese man recalls. ”I had given up. I had hit rock bottom and started having suicidal thoughts.” In Lebanon nowadays, many young people and vulnerable families from the refugee and the Lebanese communities are struggling to access decent healthcare. Cost, including the cost of transportation to healthcare facilities, stands as the most significant barrier. Other challenges include rejection of vulnerable Lebanese and Syrians by healthcare service providers; low quality of services at some facilities; lack of awareness of mental health issues; and discrepancy in service provision between different Primary Health Care Centres. Thanks to the EU-funded ‘Reducing Economic Barriers to Accessing Health Services (REBAHS)’ project, at-risk individuals have been taken care of by healthcare professionals, for no to very limited cost. Free or subsidised healthcare services have therefore helped more than 74,000 beneficiaries access mental health education activities and awareness sessions in the past four years, 80% of whom were females. “If it weren’t for the clinic, I don’t know where I would be,” asserts Karim, who says he witnessed a lot of positive changes in his life since he started consulting at the clinic. At the end of the first project cycle -REBAHS 1- the number of primary healthcare consultations provided to Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese had reached half a million, according to the EU Delegation to Lebanon. A number that jumped up to more than 3.2M consultations by the time the project ended in April 2022.

Accessibility and inclusivity

In West Bekaa, south of Beirut, Foza is being wheeled inside the Enaya Medical Centre by her dad, Badr. Keeping her entertained with his phone, he recounts the tortuous journey they had to go through to see her use her hands again. “Two years ago, we heard her scream as she was watching TV. We rushed there only to realise that she had swallowed a 250 LBP coin. We rushed to the ER where they found out that the coin had punctured her esophagus.” Due to a lack of oxygen supplied to the little girl during surgery, Foza suffered brain atrophy and limb paralysis. “She couldn’t talk anymore, and was not capable of standing, walking or even sitting,” her dad recalls with emotion. The Syrian family found out about the Enaya Medical Centre, where Mrs Ola from International Medical Corps provided them with dedicated support. “She made sure we received everything we needed: a wheelchair, 10 physiotherapy sessions bed pads and an air mattress. This made her life much more comfortable already.” Thanks to the support of Dr. Hiba Khatar Hammoud, a Doctor of Physical Therapy at the centre, Foza started exercises to mobilise her muscles. “She wasn’t conscious at all back then,” recalls Dr. Hiba, who witnessed a “tremendous progress since. What really helped is that her parents followed with us throughout.” At home, the parents religiously followed the medical treatment, applying all exercises they learned at the clinic. And the results appeared, Badr rejoices. “The physiotherapy helped her move her neck, her hand and her legs.”