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Health Policy

COVID-19 Response in LebanonCurrent Experience and Challenges in a Low-Resource Setting

Educational Objective
To understand how countries with low-resources settings are handling COVID-19

1 Credit CME

JAMA

Published Online: July 23, 2020

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Article Information and Disclosures

Petra Khoury, PharmD¹;

Eid Azar, MD²;

Eveline Hitti, MD, MBA³

Author Affiliations

¹Quality, Accreditation and Risk Management Department, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon
²Faculty of Medicine, Saint George University Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon
³Department of Emergency Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon

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On February 21, 2020, the first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was identified in Lebanon. This occurred amid a backdrop of political and economic turmoil that began in October 2019, when a banking crisis and a civil uprising led to a change in political leadership and pushed the country into an economic crisis. On January 31, approximately 2 weeks after cases started to emerge outside of China, the newly appointed government in Lebanon established a National Committee for COVID-19 (NCC) to oversee the COVID-19 national preparedness and response.

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Article Information

Corresponding Author: Eveline Hitti, MD, MBA, Department of Emergency Medicine, American University of Beirut, PO Box 11-0236, Riad El Solh 1107 2020, Beirut, Lebanon (eh16@aub.edu.lb).

Published Online: July 23, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.12695

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Khoury serves on the National Committee on COVID-19 (NCC) as special advisor on health to the Prime Minister. Dr Azar serves on the NCC as an infectious disease expert representing Saint George University Medical Center. No other disclosures were reported.

References

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Max Roser HR, Ortiz-Ospina E, Beltekian D, et al. Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). Published 2020. Accessed July 15, 2020. https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus

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Park S , Choi GJ , Ko H . Information technology–based tracing strategy in response to COVID-19 in South Korea—privacy controversies. JAMA. Published online April 23, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.6602 PubMed Google Scholar

Ranney ML , Griffeth V , Jha AK . Critical supply shortages—the need for ventilators and personal protective equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic. N Engl J Med. 2020;382(18):e41. doi:10.1056/NEJMp2006141 PubMed Google Scholar

Ma X , Vervoort D . Critical care capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Crit Care. 2020;58:96-97. doi:10.1016/j.jcrc.2020.04.012 PubMed Google Scholar Crossref

Melki J , Hitti E , Abou Zeid M , El Takach A . Mitigating Infodemics: A Working Paper on Media and Communication Uses in Lebanon During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Published 2020. Accessed July 15, 2020. http://imrt.lau.edu.lb/sites/default/files/Latest%20Research/Mitigating%20Infodemics%20IMRT%20Web.pdf

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. VASYR 2019—Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon. Published December 23, 2019. Accessed July 15, 2020. https://reliefweb.int/report/lebanon/vasyr-2019-vulnerability-assessment-syrian-refugees-lebanon

Abi-Rached JM , Diwan I . The Socioeconomic Impact of COVID-19 on Lebanon: A Crisis Within Crises. Published June 2020. Accessed June 19, 2020. https://www.euromesco.net/publication/the-socioeconomic-impact-of-covid-19-on-lebanon-a-crisis-within-crises/

AMA CME Accreditation Information

Credit Designation Statement: The American Medical Association designates this Journal-based CME activity activity for a maximum of 1.00  AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to:

1.00 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;;
1.00 Self-Assessment points in the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’s (ABOHNS) Continuing Certification program;
1.00 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;
1.00 Lifelong Learning points in the American Board of Pathology’s (ABPath) Continuing Certification program; and
1.00 CME points in the American Board of Surgery’s (ABS) Continuing Certification program

It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting MOC credit.