Health care in the Lebanon

Mohammad enjoys physiotherapy and play at a CAFOD-funded day centre in southern Lebanon [Sour Community Development Project]

Mohammad has cerebral palsy and can’t walk or talk. He needs constant care. One of his brothers and two of his sisters have learning difficulties.

Mohammad lives with his parents and five brothers and sisters in Borj Al Shamali Refugee Camp for Palestinians in southern Lebanon. Their home is a bare, concrete room.

Supporting a family is a struggle. For Mohammad’s father, finding work is hard. In Lebanon, Palestinian refugees are barred from all but low-paid jobs.

Mohammad’s 13-year-old sister works on banana plantations seven days a week, for the equivalent of £2.60 a day.

Like other refugee families, Mohammad’s parents rely on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to provide water, education, and basic health care and social welfare.

As Mohammad is unable to sit or stand without help, it is difficult for him to play with other children at home.

Thanks to the CAFOD-funded Sour Community Development Project, he goes twice a week to a day care centre, where, with the help of a physiotherapist, he can play with other children and get the attention he needs.

The physiotherapist also makes home visits to ensure his family know how best to support him at home.

Thanks to CAFOD’s support, the centre currently organises regular home visits to 55 Palestinian refugees to provide physiotherapy and advise them on low-cost aids to help them become more independent. It also provides care for 31 refugees, including Mohammad, at the centre itself.

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