An NGO gives adult cancer patients in Lebanon a vital lifeline

Thousands of skilled Lebanese workers, notably medical professionals, have left the country and the health sector is on the brink of collapse. (AFP)
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Updated 06 November 2021
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An NGO gives adult cancer patients in Lebanon a vital lifeline

  • Cancer patients face “astronomical” costs and difficulty securing medication amid the country’s grinding financial crisis
  • Established in 2018, the Cancer Support Fund provides support to adult patients who cannot afford treatment

DUBAI: Living conditions in Lebanon have deteriorated steadily since mid-2019 when the country began experiencing severe economic and financial problems, which have since been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 Beirut port blast.

The meltdown has led to shortages of essential commodities, including fuel, and resulted in an unprecedented power crisis. Consequently, thousands of skilled Lebanese workers, notably medical professionals, have left the country and the health sector is on the brink of collapse.

Under the circumstances, Lebanon’s cancer patients are facing an uphill struggle to access even the most basic medicines and treatments, frequently having to take whatever medication is readily available regardless of the side effects.




Cancer Support Fund was launched to specifically support Lebanon’s underprivileged adult cancer patients. (AFP)

Enter the Cancer Support Fund. Established in 2018 at the American University of Beirut Medical Center, it has given many a Lebanese in dire straits a timely and vital lifeline.

Hala Dahdah Abou Jaber, CSF’s founder and president, told Arab News the NGO was launched to specifically support Lebanon’s underprivileged adult cancer patients.

Despite the many cancer-related NGOs operating in the country, Abou Jaber says the adult demographic is often underserved, as the majority of charities are targeted at children.

“There was a necessity and an urge to help adult cancer patients, and when we say an adult, it could be a young boy who is 18 or 19, a mother who is 25 or 30, a father who is 50 years old, or simply an 80-year-old woman who also deserves a chance to live,” she said.

The extreme hardship endured by Dina Itani is a case in point. The South Lebanon resident chokes back tears as she recounts how the overlapping crises buffeting her country have disrupted her cancer treatment

On top of fighting the disease, she and her family must also contend with chronic shortages of vital medication.

A sudden onset of eyesight deterioration about two years ago made Itani realize that something was wrong with her health. When an ophthalmologist could not find anything wrong with her eyes, he requested a brain scan, which detected a tumor.

She underwent surgery to remove the tumor, but a biopsy showed the lump was cancerous. Itani was told she would have to undergo further treatment to prevent the cancer from spreading. “I have melanoma cancer,” Itani told Arab News.

“It’s a type of skin cancer but in my case, it’s appearing in my internal organs. I underwent brain surgery in Beirut. For a year now I have been redoing diagnostic imaging every three months.”

Despite treatment, Itani’s cancer soon spread to the bone in her right arm, forcing her to undergo another surgery to install a metal plate. She was also put on a course of immunotherapy with a drug called Opdivo. “They gave me the injection every 15 days,” she said.

However, the medical subsidies allotted through Lebanon’s social security system were not enough to cover the cost of Opdivo.

According to Drugs.com, an independent medicine information website, the price of the intravenous solution ranges from $1,189 per 4ml to $7,087 per 24ml infusion in the US. Based on Lebanon’s current minimum wage, it would be almost impossible for the average household to cover such a cost.

“The CSF helps us a lot because we can’t bear the cost of this medication,” Itani said. “It’s very expensive, even for those who are financially comfortable.”

The CSF supports its patients by covering the financial costs of treatments, screenings and occasionally even transport.

“The funds received go directly to the AUB account and there is accountability. Everything we receive goes to help a needy patient,” Abou Jaber said.




Lebanon’s cancer patients are facing an uphill struggle to access even the most basic medicines and treatments. (AFP)

The money to cover the needs of patients primarily comes from private donors, international NGOs, pharmaceutical companies, sponsors and contributors, and fundraising events.

“The number of patients supported since the establishment of the fund is 600, with more than 2,000 hospital encounters,” Dr. Ali Taher, the CSF’s co-founder, told Arab News.

The fund has been able to support an average of 70 patient admissions daily at the infusion center for chemotherapy, but Taher added: “We have had some medication shortages both in intravenous and oral forms, and this has affected patient cycles and the number of admissions required.”

According to Taher, delays in treatment can mean the difference between curing a patient of their cancer or their condition becoming terminal.

“Pausing the screening tests as well as the related treatments can definitely jeopardize the outcome,” he said. “You can start seeing advanced tumors with poor outcomes instead of early detected tumors with curable outcomes.

“You may also experience disease progression that can become fatal to a certain extent. The severity of the impact of lack of treatment depends on the case and condition and disease evolution of each patient.”

INNUMBERS

11,589 Lebanon’s new cancer cases in 2020.

6,438 Lebanon’s cancer deaths in 2020.

(Source: WHO, GloboCan)

The CSF has supported 220 patients this year alone, but Taher expects the number to increase owing to the severity of the financial crisis.

While the world’s attention has been focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, cancer has not stopped taking its toll. According to the Global Cancer Observatory, there were 11,589 new cancer cases in Lebanon in 2020.

Pharmacies and hospitals in the country have been running short of even the most basic medications for several months. In August, protesters gathered outside the headquarters of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia in Beirut to demand global assistance.

Fuel shortages have contributed to the plight of the health sector. In August, the AUB Medical Center released a statement warning that its patients were in imminent danger due to the lack of a dependable energy supply to run its ventilators.


READ MORE 

Lebanon’s health system on life support as economic woes worsen



The steady depletion of foreign-currency reserves has made it difficult for traders to source essential commodities for a country that imports nearly 80 percent of its goods.

“The CSF today is facing two main challenges: Securing the astronomical cost of treatment and securing the impossible-to-find medications on the Lebanese market,” Abou Jaber said.

“We call on the international community to extend a helping hand to us and to our patients and to find viable solutions.”




The CSF supports its patients by covering the financial costs of treatments, screenings and occasionally even transport. (AFP)

In the meantime, cancer patients such as Itani are having to make do with whatever medication they can get their hands on.

Despite the life-saving support provided by the CSF, shortages of Opdivo forced Itani’s doctor to prescribe an alternative drug that was more readily available.

“I am experiencing strong side-effects from those pills,” Itani said of the new medicine. “It’s as if the skin on my hands and face is burnt. I felt much better when I was taking the other medication.”

To prevent her condition from growing any worse, Itani has little choice but to continue taking the medicine and to hope that she can outlast Lebanon’s seemingly incurable ills.


Lebanese PM, speaker of UAE advisory parliament discuss regional issues

Updated 10 sec ago
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Lebanese PM, speaker of UAE advisory parliament discuss regional issues

  • Saqr Ghobash congratulated Nawaf Salam on forming a Lebanese government in February
  • Salam praised the UAE for promoting regional stability, development 

LONDON: Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam discussed the strong fraternal relations between Abu Dhabi and Beirut with Saqr Ghobash, speaker of the UAE Federal National Council, on Thursday.

Ghobash made an official visit to Lebanon, where he extended the wishes of the Emirati leadership to Lebanon and its people for continued progress, prosperity and development, the Emirates News Agency reported.

Salam and Ghobash discussed ways to strengthen and expand cooperation in various cultural, economic and humanitarian fields, and exchanged views on several regional and international issues of mutual interest, WAM added.

Ghobash congratulated Salam on forming a Lebanese government in February and reaffirmed the UAE’s strong support for Lebanon’s sovereignty, stability and development. He said that the UAE is committed to providing unwavering support to the Lebanese people.

Salam praised the UAE for promoting stability and development across the region, and expressed appreciation for its continuous support of Lebanon during recent challenging times, WAM reported.


France says Tunisian political dissidents did not receive fair trial

Updated 24 April 2025
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France says Tunisian political dissidents did not receive fair trial

  • The comments by France came amid growing criticism of the government of President Kais Saied over its crackdown on dissent
  • The French Foreign Ministry said: “We regret the failure to respect fair trial conditions“

TUNIS: France on Wednesday criticized the lengthy sentences handed down by a Tunisian court against opposition leaders and businessmen on conspiracy charges on the weekend, saying the conditions for a fair trial were not met.
The comments by France, the first country to speak out on the trial, came amid growing criticism of the government of President Kais Saied over its crackdown on dissent.
Rights groups said the mass conviction of dissidents is a disturbing indication of the authorities’ willingness to go ahead with its crackdown on peaceful dissent.
Tunisia’s opposition has said the trial was fabricated and aimed at silencing critical voices and consolidating the authoritarian rule.
“We learned with concern of the harsh sentences...against several individuals accused of conspiring against state security, including French nationals,” the French Foreign Ministry said.
“We regret the failure to respect fair trial conditions,” it added. Journalists, diplomats, and civil society were barred from attending the trial.
The trial highlights Saied’s full control over the judiciary since he dissolved parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree. He also dissolved the independent Supreme Judicial Council and sacked dozens of judges in 2022.
Forty people were prosecuted in the trial, which started in March. More than 20 have fled abroad since being charged.
Lawyers said the maximum sentence was 66 years for businessman Kamel Ltaif, while opposition politician Khyam Turki received a 48-year sentence.
The court also sentenced prominent opposition figures including Ghazi Chaouachi, Issam Chebbi, Jawahar Ben Mbrak and Ridha BelHajj to 18 years in prison. They have been in custody since being detained in 2023.
Saied said in 2023 that the politicians were “traitors and terrorists” and that judges who would acquit them were their accomplices.
The opposition leaders involved in the case rejected the charges and said they were preparing an initiative aimed at uniting the fragmented opposition to face the democratic setback in the cradle of the Arab Spring uprisings.


Lebanon parliament approves changes to banking secrecy law

Updated 24 April 2025
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Lebanon parliament approves changes to banking secrecy law

  • The international community has long demanded major fiscal reforms to unlock billions of dollars in aid to restart the Lebanese economy
  • The crash since 2019 has seen the local currency lose most of its value against the US dollar

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s parliament on Thursday approved amendments to banking secrecy legislation, a key reform demanded by the International Monetary Fund, as Lebanese officials hold meetings with global finance institutions in Washington.
A statement from speaker Nabih Berri’s office said parliament passed amendments to “the law related to banking secrecy” and to monetary legislation.
The international community has long demanded major fiscal reforms to unlock billions of dollars in aid to restart the Lebanese economy in the wake of a five-year economic collapse widely blamed on mismanagement and corruption.
The crash since 2019 has seen the local currency lose most of its value against the US dollar and has pushed much of the population into poverty, with ordinary people locked out of their savings.
The recent war between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group has worsened matters, with the cash-strapped country now also needing funds for reconstruction.
Lebanese rights group Legal Agenda said the amendments allow “banking supervisory and regulatory bodies... to request access to all banking information without linking the request to a specific objective.”
These bodies will now be able to access information including customer names and deposit details, and look into possible suspicious activity, the group said.
Lebanon has long had strict rules over bank account privacy that critics have said makes it susceptible to money laundering.
The cabinet had approved the amendment earlier this month, saying it would apply retroactively for 10 years from the date of request.
That means it would apply to the start of the economic crisis, when bankers were accused of assisting influential individuals to transfer large amounts of money overseas.
Parliament’s approval comes with Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, Economy Minister Amer Bizat and new central bank governor Karim Souaid in Washington for meetings with the World Bank and IMF.
Jaber said earlier this week that parliamentary approval of the banking secrecy amendment would give a “boost” to the delegation’s meetings.
In April 2022, Lebanon and the IMF reached conditional agreement on a $3-billion loan package, but painful reforms that the 46-month financing program would require have largely not happened.
In February, the IMF said it was open to a new loan agreement with Beirut following discussions with the newly appointed Jaber.
The new government has pledged to implement other required reforms, and approved draft legislation on restructuring the banking sector earlier this month.


UK ends sanctions on Syria defense, interior ministries

Updated 24 April 2025
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UK ends sanctions on Syria defense, interior ministries

  • Sanctions against various media groups and intelligence agencies were also lifted
  • New Syrian government is aiming to persuade Western capitals that sanctions should be lifted

LONDON: The UK government announced on Thursday it was lifting sanctions that were imposed on Syria’s interior and defense ministries during the rule of the now-deposed Bashar Assad.
“The following entries have been removed from the Consolidated List and are no longer subject to an asset freeze – Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defense,” the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said in a notice.
Sanctions against various media groups and intelligence agencies were also lifted, although Syria’s new rulers dissolved the Assad-era spy bodies in January.
Those targeted by the sanctions were “involved in repressing the civilian population in Syria” or had been “involved in supporting or benefitting from the Syrian regime,” said the notice.
The new Syrian government is aiming to persuade Western capitals that the militant origins of the rebels who toppled Assad in December, after 14 years in charge, are confined to the past, and that crippling international sanctions should be lifted.


Amnesty denounces Algeria over ‘alarming’ crackdown

Updated 24 April 2025
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Amnesty denounces Algeria over ‘alarming’ crackdown

  • Amnesty said the 23 were detained “solely for the peaceful exercise of their human rights”
  • Amnesty singled out accelerated judicial procedures, which it said did not give several detainees time for adequate defense

TUNIS: Amnesty International on Thursday denounced what it called a “crackdown on peaceful dissent” in Algeria in response to an online protest campaign.
“Algerian authorities have intensified their relentless clampdown on peaceful dissent through arbitrary arrests and unjust prosecutions leading to lengthy prison sentences,” the rights group said in a statement.
It said the authorities have arrested and sentenced at least 23 activists and journalists over their purported support for an online protest movement dubbed Manich Radi (which loosely translates as “I do not agree“).
The campaign, Amnesty said, was launched in December 2024 “to denounce restrictions on human rights and difficult socioeconomic conditions in the country.”
Amnesty said the 23 were detained “solely for the peaceful exercise of their human rights.”
Its regional director for the Middle East and North Africa Heba Morayef said: “The trajectory of suffocating online activism pursued by the Algerian authorities is alarming and must be reversed.
“Nothing can justify detaining and jailing people solely for having expressed dissatisfaction about political and socioeconomic conditions,” she added.
The crackdown coincided with the lead-up to the sixth anniversary in February of the pro-democracy Hirak movement.
Amnesty singled out accelerated judicial procedures, which it said did not give several detainees time for adequate defense.
Among several cases, it cited the March sentencing of activists Soheib Debbaghi and Mahdi Bazizi to 18-month jail terms for their ties to the “Manich Radi” movement.
Debbaghi was convicted of “publishing content harmful to national interest,” Amnesty said.
It urged the authorities in Algeria to “end their crackdown on peaceful dissent and stop punishing the legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of expression.”