MAP - Lebanon
(Nahr el-Bared Camp, 2007)
Lebanon
MAP has been working in Lebanon for over 25 years. With an office based in Beirut and a history of excellent relations with local partners, MAP is able to channel effective emergency aid and longer term health support to vulnerable refugees living in the country. Key focus areas of the Lebanon programme include Maternal and Child Health and Disability, as well as Emergency Response and Post-Emergency Rehabilitation.
MAP works to achieve sustainable improvements in health by building local capacity and by working with households to address gaps in health services. By taking this approach, MAP has documented critical gaps in the provision of health services for vulnerable populations, especially women and children. To address these gaps, MAP has supported the development of several specialist advice clinics and outreach services. These provide screening services and diagnosis, so that health risks can be more effectively managed in situations where resources are inadequate and poorly prioritised.
In running these services, we have designed a set of audit tools to monitor clinic practice and systematically review patient records. MAP thereby supervises the quality of care given, while addressing the training and development needs of health professionals.
We believe that it is important for individuals to see themselves not simply as victims of such constraints, but also to increase an understanding of how they can address their own health needs. To promote such understanding, MAP has developed a series of interactive electronic and board games for use in schools, youth centres and community groups. The game itself has relevance beyond the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, as it uses social settings in which health risks and health-harming behaviours become apparent, and where choices have to be made.
MAP is also working with Palestinian and Lebanese NGOs to fund interventions and organisational development, especially in developing research capacity. This has enabled a greater level of participation from the local community and informed criticism of the services offered. Within its portfolio of projects, MAP is striving to pilot initiatives; the lessons learnt will be of relevance to larger service providers where initiatives could be scaled up to reach more people.
See an interactive map of Shatila camp HERE
Palestinians in Lebanon - A Forgotten People
Lebanese Policy Towards Palestinians
