The Pandemic Fund

Background

Lebanon received US$11.4 million from the Pandemic Fund to upgrade its preparedness and response capabilities through a One Health approach. The grant will mobilize an additional US$17.8 million in co-financing and US$5.3 million in co-investment.

Lebanon boasts a vibrant culture and an educated workforce. The government has also invested significantly in public health, including a Surveillance Unit and a Public Health Emergency Operating Center. Nonetheless, Lebanon has been beset with a range of challenges that strain the public health system, including COVID-19 and outbreaks of measles and cholera, compromised water and sanitation services, and a severe economic crisis that increased the cost of medicine. Moreover, longstanding instability in Syria has prompted waves of Syrians to enter Lebanon as refugees, now comprising roughly one-third of Lebanon’s population. 

In the Pandemic Fund’s spirit of multisectoral collaboration, Lebanon’s project is a collaboration among the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Finance, and four implementing entities: the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), UNICEF, the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO).
 

Project objectives

Within Lebanon’s complex health and socioeconomic landscape, the government intends to enhance preparedness and response capabilities and drive resilience for its people. 
 

Implementation arrangements and key components

Lebanon’s project aligns with the Pandemic Fund’s priorities: surveillance, laboratory systems, and workforce development. Details within each area follow. 

1. Strengthening surveillance and early warning systems, including at the country’s points of entry. Activities in this area focus on implementing a comprehensive, multi-sourced data management system and include developing a One Health surveillance action plan, procuring and installing ICT equipment, producing technical guidance and standard operating procedures, establishing a monitoring system for emerging infectious diseases, and setting up an epidemiologic intelligence platform and environmental health information system to gather data on the impacts of climate change. Activities in this area also include running simulation exercises for outbreak scenarios, expanding intra-action and after-action reviews, and training health workers.  
2. Developing an accredited laboratory network. This component of the project focuses on enabling point-to-point transfers of human, animal, and environmental specimens, establishing channels, networks, and standard operating procedures to improve network connectivity, and optimizing digital systems, communication, and supply chain management (including the procurement of specimen transport vehicles, laboratory and ICT equipment, diagnostic kits, reagents, and consumables). In addition, it includes implementing biosafety and biosecurity measures and developing a national laboratory accreditation system to support laboratory quality.
3. Strengthening the public health workforce and competency-based education. Activities in this area include developing a human resource management information system for the Ministry of Public Health and Ministry of Agriculture, incorporating the One Health approach into basic medical and agricultural trainings, building the skills of rapid response teams, and training laboratory staff on biosafety and biosecurity. They also include implementing prevention protocols for animal sampling and contamination risk management. 

The FAO supports the Ministry of Agriculture within the animal health and veterinary sector. UNICEF focuses on risk communication and community engagement, as well as protecting vulnerable communities and children. The World Bank supports the co-financing of activities related to surveillance, early warning, and response. And the WHO provides guidance, coordination, and technical expertise in epidemics and pandemics and supports co-financing.
 

Expected outcomes

With the support of the Pandemic Fund and its project partners, Lebanon seeks to: 

1. Strengthen the nation’s surveillance and early warning systems and resilience
2. Develop an accredited, resource-mapped laboratory network at the national and sub-national levels, and
3. Improve workforce capacity for pandemic prevention and response.