Appeal for the supply of Medical Drugs for Eight Medico-Social Services and two Mobile Clinics at Imam Sadr Foundation Community based in Tyr, (South-Lebanon)

INTRODUCTION :
Imam Sadr Foundation (ISF) is a non-profit, non-governmental association, which began its activities in the late sixties. ISF has historically focused on improving access of the poor to their basic rights in social, health and educational services. It also has led efforts to promote tolerance and interaction between communities and religions.

A close community involvement has allowed the Foundation to thoroughly analyze the socioeconomic conditions where it operates.

Local, regional and international contacts have been developed to facilitate the exchange of experience and expertise and to provide opportunities for the Foundation to contribute in international discussions on relief and development.

COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAMS :

Education is one of the major pillars of ISF’s current developmental programs: pre-school, elementary and particular curriculum for children with special educational needs. ISF’s provisions for orphans have helped to decrease deeply-rooted social and economic problems, such as family violence, absolute poverty, and dysfunctional families.

The ISF Nursing School (vocational official B.T. and T.S. levels) has enabled hundreds of graduates to find gainful employment (mainly in hospitals and medico-social centers) and, hence, become economically independent. In 2008, a new program (1 year vocational diploma / L.T. level) emerged in the nursing school in coordination with NORWAC: “Mental Health Community Nursing”. Other vocational training programs designed to meet market needs have scored similar success. Last component, the first of its kind nationwide, was the establishment of a 2-year-curriculum to qualify and graduate social workers. The Health Department focuses on relatively remote areas. Mobile clinics and eight medico-social centers serve the most deprived population of the southern villages.

Since its inception in the early sixties, the ISF has demonstrated commitment and involvement in addressing the short and long-term needs of women in relation to rights to education, health care and employment.  The ISF’s direct interventions in this respect have been in the specific areas of literacy and education, care to orphans and children from ultra-poor families, empowerment and gender mainstreaming. ISF has also participated in numerous initiatives aiming to challenge discrimination against women. This is in harmony with ISF’s promoting of gender equality and equity as well as women’s full participation in public life.

ISF has built an active, committed, and multi-disciplinary team where women play a leading role in both administration and programs. In addition, the ISF has plans to modernize its Management Information System in an effort to increase its effectiveness and efficiency. Another aspect of this organizational development is the involvement of all the foundation’s levels in a strategic planning process. Imam Sadr Foundation strives to foster and encourage understanding and interaction between communities and religions.  As such, the ISF has organized various inter-community events and has facilitated dialogue between people with differing views and stances. Accordingly, the ISF holds the annual conference “Common Terms”. On another level, ISF is actively involved in a network of regional and international contacts and linkages related to development and takes part in a number of regional and international fora. Recently, the ISF has been granted the special consultative status with Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) in an effort to further its impact and its contribution to the international discourse on development.

I.S.F. STRATEGIC PLANIFICATION

Vision: towards a society free of ignorance, poverty and disease, with equal rights and opportunities regardless of differences in faith…
Mission:to bring about social justice, change and equity by working closely with the local communities on matters of health and education, and to promote a culture of dialogue and reconciliation.

HEALTH PROGRAMS :

The Health Programs provide a range of curative and preventive services including general awareness campaigns. The beneficiaries are mainly people of low income and the socially deprived (an average of 30 to 50 visitors daily per center; an interval of 55 000 to 80 000 services per year for all the centers), but everybody benefits from the awareness services. The aim of the program is to guarantee the right of people to enjoy good health physically, psychologically and socially. 137 health providers (mainly 10 administrative persons, 53 paramedics - nurses, laboratory technicians, nutritionists, physiotherapists – and 74 physicians) operate in this non-profitable health system, funded mainly by personal donations or some short-term projects by national or international NGOs .

The Health Programs are carried out in eight fixed health centers spread throughout South Lebanon (see map, in the following villages: at Anqoun & Kfarhatta in the Casa of Saida; at Derdghayyah, Chhabi yyeh, Jal Bahr and Siddiqine in the casa of Tyr; at Ayta Chaab in the casa of Bint-Jbeil; at Dayr Syriane in the casa of Marjeyoun), and through mobile clinics which serve the remote Southern villages (General Mobile Clinic M.C.: Touline, qabrikha and Suwweneh, and the Specialized Mobile Clinic ” Unité Médicale Mobile U.M.M.” at the villages of “Aynata, Maroun Al-Ras and Tiri”/ Casa of Bint Jbeil; “Houla, Markaba, Talloussa, Bani Hayyane” / Casa of Marjeyoun and “Adchite & Brayqi’I” casa of Nabatieh).

The school dispensary located at the compound in Tyr provides health care services to 1000 students (450 orphan girls) and staff members of the Foundation, and has a program for visits to public schools in the Tyr region, where it performs check-ups on the students, provide them with products for personal hygiene, and teach the students about matters of personal and public hygiene.

Our services are mainly of Primary health nature: medical consultations (general medicine, internal medicine, cardiovascular diseases, gynecology, endocrinology, urology, Ear Nose and Throat E.N.T. specialty, neurology, orthopedics, pediatrics, dermatology, gastroenterology, dentistry), vaccination, reproductive health, laboratory routine tests, essential and chronic drugs, health promotion and social awareness.

In addition to health care, the Primary Health Care Centers PHCC are strategically located to allow the Foundation to undertake thorough assessments of the socio-economic conditions, monitor changes and identity problems, needs and gaps in services. The dispensaries are used on a regular basis for community awareness purposes as well as for mother and child health care services.

The geographic outreach and services of ISF health department medico-social facilities are:

a) Tyr / Siddiqine: Siddiqine Medico-Social Center
FSERVICES: General & Specialized Medical Care, Dental Clinic (+ Panoramic), Laboratory, Vaccination, Pharmacy, Echocardiography, Electrocardiography, Health Education, Primary Emergency Care.

b) Tyr / Mansouri: Jal Al-Bahr
FSERVICES: General & Specialized Medical Care, Vaccination, Pharmacy, Echocardiography, Electrocardiography, Primary Emergency Care.
c) Tyr / Chhabiyyeh: Chhabiyyeh Medico-Social Center in collaboration with MOPH,

FSERVICES: General & Specialized Medical Care, Laboratory tests (outsourcing), Vaccination, Pharmacy, Health Education, Electrocardiography, Primary Emergency Care.

d) Tyr / Derdghayyah: Derdghayyah Medico-Social Center in collaboration with MOSA,
FSERVICES: PHYSIOTHERAPHY, General & Specialized Medical Care, Laboratory tests (outsourcing), Vaccination, Pharmacy, Health Educ., Electrocardiography, Primary Emergency Care.

e) Saida / Anqoune: Anqoune Medico-Social Center,
FSERVICES: General & Specialized Medical Care, Laboratory, Vaccination, Pharmacy, Electrocardiography, Health Education, Primary Emergency Care.

f) Saida / Kfarhatta: Kfarhatta Medico-Social Center in collaboration with MOPH,
FSERVICES: General & Specialized Medical Care, Dental Clinic, Laboratory tests (outsourcing), Vaccination, Pharmacy, Health Education, Electrocardiography, Echocardiography, Primary Emergency Care.

g) Bint Jbeil / Ayta Chaab: Ayta Chaab Medico-Social Center,
FSERVICES: General & Specialized Medical Care, Dental Clinic, Laboratory tests (outsourcing), Vaccination, Pharmacy, Electrocardiography, Health Education, Primary Emergency Care.

h) Marjeyoune /Dayr Syriane: Dayr-Syriane Medico-Social Center in collaboration with MOPH & Italian Cooperation,
FSERVICES: General & Specialized Medical Care, Dental Clinic, Laboratory tests (outsourcing), Vaccination, Pharmacy, Health Education, Electrocardiography, Echocardiography, Primary Emergency Care.

i) SPECIALIZED MOBILE CLINIC (UMM: Unité Médicale Mobile):
i. Houla, Markaba, Talloussah, Bani Hayyane (Marjeyoun Qadaa)
ii. Maroun Al-Ras, Aynata, Al-Tyri (Bint Jbeil Qadaa)
iii. Brayqi’, Adchite (Nabatieh Qadaa).
FSERVICES: Specialized Medical Care and Chronic Drugs.

j) GENERAL MOBILE CLINIC (MC):
Touline, Sawweneh (Bint Jbeil Qadaa) & Qabrikha (Marjeyoun Qadaa).
FSERVICES: General Medical Care and Essential Drugs.

FUTURE PROJECTS:
Finally, some of our main future projects are the introduction of a mental health support system in our 8 primary healthcare centres, preparedness for emergency and disaster management in coordination with national and international representative NGOs in Lebanon, and the implementation of the Primary Health Canadian Accreditation standards of quality in cooperation with the Ministry Of Public Health. We prone also to have a network of partnerships internationally to interchange experiences and to build together a better future for humankind (hadith: “the best of you are those who can benefit most for others” / “khayr annass an’faauhum lil’nass”) .

Signed: Mrs Ghada El Zeil Health Coordinator & Head of Projects. Imam Sadr Foundation