Minister of Public Health, Hamad Hassan, on Wednesday held a meeting with French Development Agency Director for Lebanon and Syria, Olivier Ray, over a cooperation project with the agency to help develop the health sector in Lebanon.
Minister Hassan stated that the meeting had mainly discussed the expansion of the healthcare sector in Lebanon, so as to ensure health security to all the Lebanese nationals, as well as to other residents on Lebanese territories, especially amid the current circumstances.
"Discussion mainly focused on the Agency's project in Lebanon, which is worth approximately 50 million euros, of which 5 million euros are in donations and 45 million euros are a soft loan," explained Hassan.
For his part, Ray said, "The French Development Agency has been operating in Lebanon since 1999 and wishes, in light of the grim situation that Lebanon endures, to continue investing in the country's sustainable development, especially in the field of health."
He went on to say that the French agency had funded several years ago projects that allowed the civil society and NGOs to provide support to the health sector to be able to meet the growing demand for health services, especially due to the large presence of Syrian refugees on Lebanese territories.
Ray also announced that a project worth 10 million euros had been launched to secure support for NGOs that contribute, along with the Ministry of Public Health, to providing health services in Lebanon.
"Cooperation is very positive with the Ministry of Public Health, particularly in the field of mental health; the French Development Agency will continue to provide support to this field due to its paramount importance amid the prevailing period of crises in Lebanon," maintained Ray.
Moreover, he lauded the "positive cooperation" that has been ongoing for years between Hariri University Hospital and the International Committee of the Red Cross, adding that this cooperation has played a key role in placing Lebanon on the list of countries that have managed to aptly handle the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The agency will provide twenty million euros for the continuation of this cooperation in the coming years," Ray added.
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