Health Minister Firas Abiad on Thursday announced an agreement between the Ministry of Health and the World Bank in support of hospitalization tariffs for MoPH patients by a ratio of three times and a half.
Abiad made his remarks in a joint press conference held by the Ministry of Health with Saroj Kumar Jha, the Regional Director of the Mashreq Department at the World Bank Group, in the presence of Suleiman Haroun and Sharaf Abu Sharaf of the Private Hospitals Owners’ Syndicate.
In his delivered word, Kumar Jha pointed to the close work that the World Bank had been accomplishing in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Health.
“The Bank has provided support to the Ministry in the context of responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, with an amount exceeding USD fifty-eight (58) million; it included financing vaccines to support the vaccination campaign in various Lebanese regions,” Kumar Jha said.
“The World Bank is very satisfied with the campaign program launched by the Ministry of Public Health, and I’m aware that there is a lot to be accomplished, so I appeal to everyone to get the vaccine immediately and without hesitation, in order to achieve full social and familial safety,” he added.
Kumar Jha went on to express his satisfaction at the launch of a new program in support of health and hospitals, in both the private and public sectors, to help families bear the burdens of the soaring prices.
Touching on “Aman Network" program, which is funded by the World Bank and was launched yesterday by Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, Kumar Jha said that within a few hours, more than a thousand people registered on the platform.
“The Minister of Social Affairs and members of his office team will continue to ensure that the registration is completed by the end of next January, with the aim of providing assistance to those who need it,” he explained.
Kumar Jha then stressed that cooperation efforts were ongoing among the Lebanese government, the World Bank, and donor countries to find any means of assistance for families who need it in Lebanon.
For his part, the Health Minister regretted the fact that the difficult financial conditions had placed heavy burdens on patients and hospitals due to the significant depreciation of the national currency, without this being accompanied so far with a change in tariffs, which are still fixed at the old exchange rate “while greatest burden falls on the shoulders of the citizen.”
“Therefore, it was necessary to give citizens a break and simultaneously raise the readiness of hospitals in the face of the new Covid-19 wave nationwide,” he added.
Minister Abiad then explained that the three and a half times tariff didn’t apply only to hospitals, but also to doctors' fees, which will increase in the same proportion. “Also, according to this agreement, hospital fees will be separated from doctors' fees, so that everyone gets his full right, which contributes to helping doctors’ steadfastness in their homeland to continue their efforts to serve patients.”
The Minister of Public Health finally lauded the existing cooperation with the World Bank, explaining that the aforementioned program is part of the $120 million loan, of which less than $60 million had been spent on efforts to combat the Coronavirus.
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