Media reports revealed a mounting crisis that Lebanon sees in the health system, that is, hundreds of disillusioned doctors leave Lebanon, in blow to healthcare.
In the past year, the country has been through a popular uprising against political corruption, bankruptcy of the state and banking system, while coronavirus pandemic further added to its crisis, before a huge blast in last August at Beirut city port destroyed swathes of the capital.
Reuters quoted physicians saying: “Some of those who can leave the country have done so, and an increasing number of them are doctors and surgeons, many at the top of their profession. With them goes Beirut's proud reputation as the medical capital of the Middle East.”
"This is a mass exodus," said Fouad Boulos, Associate Professor of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the American University of Beirut (AUB).
"It will keep on going," he told Reuters. "If I had hope I would have stayed but I have no hope - not in the near nor in the intermediate future - for Lebanon." Boulos is getting ready to move to the United States with his family, where he gave up his green card already years ago to return to Lebanon.
"It breaks my heart. It was the hardest decision I ever had to make, leaving everything behind," Boulos added.
They are not only seeing wages fall, but also face shortages of equipment, staff and even some basic supplies in their hospitals as Lebanon runs out of hard currency to pay for imports.
On his part, Sharaf Abou Sharaf, head of the doctors' syndicate, said the departure of 400 doctors so far this year creates a major problem, especially for university hospitals where they both practice and teach.
"This bleeding of talent does not bode well, especially if the situation lasts long and there are others who are preparing to leave," he said.
Ghazi Zaatari, associate dean for Faculty Affairs and Chair of the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine at AUB, said he feared the exodus would accelerate.
"For the past 10 years we put a lot of effort into recruiting around 220 faculty members, and now it is very disheartening to see that many of those we hired are leaving again."
“Then came the Aug. 4 blast, when large amounts of poorly stored ammonium nitrate exploded, killing 200 people, injuring 6,000, making 300,000 people homeless and destroying large parts of the capital Beirut including several hospitals.. The explosion was the final nail in the coffin," Boulos said.
"It crystallised all the fears, all the pain and all the difficulties that we were living through," added the medic, who trained at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Boulos said: "Lebanon is corrupt to the core," echoing the chants of thousands of protesters who packed city streets during the last year.
Earlier on Tuesday, Lebanon ordered a nationwide lockdown for around two weeks to stem the spread of the virus, as intensive care units reached critical capacity.
Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan agreed.
"Their expertise was built over many years and is very hard to lose overnight. We will need many years to return the medical sector to its former glory," he told Reuters.
The caretaker health minister said the state was seeking international help to prop up depreciated salaries of doctors to slow the exodus.
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