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Lebanon’s vaccine rollout neglects migrant workers, refugees: Human Rights Watch

Lebanon’s vaccine rollout is at risk of marginalizing refugees and migrant workers who make up a third of the crisis-hit country’s population, Human Rights Watch warned on Tuesday.
“With one in three people in Lebanon a refugee or migrant, a third of the population risks being left behind in the vaccination plan,” said HRW researcher Nadia Hardman.
“The government needs to invest in targeted outreach to build trust with long-marginalized communities or the COVID-19 vaccination effort is doomed to fail.”
In February, Lebanon started a mass vaccination campaign that Health Minister Hamad Hassan said would cover everyone living in the country regardless of their nationality.
It aims to cover 80 per cent of the population by the end of the year but the rollout has been slow.
Only 233,934 doses have been administered as of April 5 mostly due to the limited quantity of vaccines available, HRW said.
“Only 2.86 percent of those vaccinated and 5.36 percent of those registered to receive vaccinations are non-Lebanese.”
More than 19,900 Palestinian refugees and health workers and 6,701 Syrian refugees are eligible in the first phase of the vaccine rollout, HRW said.
Citing data collected by the United Nations, it warned that “Syrian and Palestinian refugees have died from COVID-19 at a rate more than four and three times the national average, respectively,” and urged authorities to ensure the equitable distribution of vaccines.
Lebanon says it hosts more than 1.5 million Syrians, nearly a million of whom are registered as refugees with the UN.
Official estimates put the number of Palestinian refugees in the country at 180,000 but the actual number could be as high as 500,000.
Lebanon is also home to tens of thousands of foreign workers.
The small Mediterranean country has recorded 480,502 coronavirus cases, 6,443 of them fatal.
The pandemic piled new misery on a country already grappling with its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.
The World Bank has allocated $34 million to inoculate two million of Lebanon’s six million inhabitants.
The health ministry has allowed the private sector to import additional vaccines to speed up the process.
As a result, “some politicians have already started securing vaccines for their constituents,” HRW warned.
This is “raising fears that the distribution of vaccines will be based on political affiliation”.
In February, authorities came under fire after 16 lawmakers jumped the vaccine queue and received secret jabs in parliament in violation of a World Bank agreement.
“It has quickly become clear that there are serious gaps in the plan’s implementation,” Hardman said.
source: AFP
Image source: Reuters
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BENEFIT Sponsors Gulf Uni...
- April 17, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has announced its sponsorship of the “Innovation and Sustainable Technology Solutions Competition (GU - IST Solutions), hosted by Gulf University at its main campus.
This strategic sponsorship reflects BENEFIT’s active role in advancing technological innovation and fostering sustainable solutions to future challenges. It also seeks to empower Bahraini youth by enhancing their skills, capabilities, and competitiveness in innovation and solution development—contributing meaningfully to the broader goals of sustainable development across all sectors.
As part of BENEFIT’s active involvement in the competition, the company has announced that Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager of Public Relations and Communication, will serve on the competition’s supervisory committee. Her upcoming participation reflects BENEFIT’s forward-looking commitment to championing academic and professional excellence.
Commenting on the occasion, Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager of Public Relations and Communication at BENEFIT, said, “We are privileged to support this pioneering initiative, which aligns seamlessly with BENEFIT’s enduring commitment to fostering innovation and nurturing the potential of Bahrain’s youth. Our participation is rooted in a deep sense of social responsibility and a firm belief in the pivotal role of innovation in shaping a sustainable future. Through such platforms, we seek to empower the next generation with the knowledge, skills, and foresight required to develop impactful solutions that address future challenges, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030.”
Dr. Aseel Al Ayash Dean of the College of Engineering in Gulf University commented, “We extend our sincere gratitude to BENEFIT for their generous sponsorship and support of the Innovation and Sustainable Technology Solutions Competition. This contribution plays an instrumental role in helping us achieve the strategic goals of this initiative, namely, cultivating a culture of innovation and sustainability, encouraging efforts that address the imperatives of sustainable development, and enhancing the practical and professional capabilities of our students and participants.”
The event will bring together a diverse spectrum of participants, including secondary school students, university undergraduates, engineers, industry professionals, entrepreneurs, academic researchers, and subject matter experts representing a wide range of disciplines.
The competition seeks to inspire participants to develop and present innovative, sustainable technologies aimed at addressing pressing environmental, social, and economic challenges. It encourages the formulation of business models that integrate advanced technological solutions with core principles of sustainability. Moreover, it serves as a platform for emerging leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators to contribute to the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals, promote the ethos of responsible technology, and demonstrate its transformative potential across various sectors.
Attendees will have the opportunity to view a series of project presentations submitted by participants, covering diverse areas such as eco-friendly product design, smart and sustainable innovations, renewable energy technologies, water conservation and management, waste minimisation and recycling, green architectural solutions, and sustainable transportation systems. Outstanding projects will be formally recognised and awarded at the conclusion of the event.
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