News

The President of the Lebanese Association of the Knights of Malta, Mr. Marwan Sehnaoui, and the Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Sovereign Order of Malta to Lebanon, Mr. François Abi Saab, paid a courtesy visit to Her Excellency Mrs. Anne Grillo, Ambassador of France to Lebanon, who received them in the presence of the Embassy’s Political Advisor, Mr. Sébastien Lesaulnier.

During this interview, they reviewed the situation in Lebanon facing the multiple health, social, economic and financial crises.

Their discussions then focused on the future of the country, both on a humanitarian and social level, as well as on the field action undertaken by the Order of Malta, in particular its new agro-humanitarian project which specifically grabbed the attention of the ambassador.

President Sehnaoui and Mr. Abi Saab warmly thanked France for the support it brings to the mission of the Order of Malta in Lebanon, through its community health centers, mobile medical units, day centers for the elderly and its action in favor of disability, with the hope that this collaboration will continue to meet the needs of a population in complete disarray and to build together a better tomorrow.

Striving to contribute to Lebanon’s community health by supporting small scale farmers to maintain production and improve their resilience, we launched the next phase of our agro-humanitarian project “Healthy We Grow”, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) with the support of Malteser International. The project aims to provide vulnerable farmers with natural, human, and physical assets (seeds, seedlings, irrigation systems, organic matter, and training) to pursue their farming activities. Access of small farmers to basic agriculture assets became extremely difficult due to the multi-dimensional crises that hit Lebanon since Oct 2019. The overall objective of the project is to increase food availability and accessibility by strengthening domestic production and creating jobs in the agriculture sector.

The project’s field implementation is lead in partnership with Fondation Saradar. The team will conduct outreach activities to selected 900 vulnerable farmers living in underprivileged communities in the catchment areas of our Community Health Centers – Barqa (Ras Baalbek), Khaldiye (Zgharta), Kobayat (Akkar, Denniyeh), Kefraya (Western Bekaa) and Yaroun (Southern border).

The selection criteria are based on the economic, health, food and nutrition vulnerabilities for each farmer’s household. The 900 farmers will benefit from around 3.2 million seedlings, irrigation systems, and organic matter to achieve a good production. Farmers will be supported to plant foods with high nutritive value and demand at the market level which include tomato, pepper, cucumber, cabbage, cauliflower, as well as, broccoli, potatoes and beans. All farmers will receive tailored technical assistance in the form of field visits. Moreover, the project empowers every enrolled farmer and producer by enabling them to play an active role in their community beyond the mere agriculture and production part. In this vein, each beneficiary donates 5% of their agricultural production to be distributed among the underprivileged individuals who benefit from the health services provided by our centers.

Food prices increased by more than 150% in 2020 in Lebanon and expenditure on food reached more than 85% of total household expenditures for the most vulnerable. With the ongoing financial and political crises and the potential removal of subsidies on basic food items, strengthening food security by improving food availability is a context-based solution to increase communities’ resilience and prevent a food crisis. Food utilization and availability are two of the pillars upon which healthy communities are built, this project will complement the tireless efforts of our health centers.

Six months after the Beirut port explosion on the 4th of August, the Order of Malta Lebanon, driven by its mission to serve the people in need and preserve their dignity, has decided to pursue its relief action at the heart of Beirut by partnering with Stand for Women in support of their “Marion Fund” initiative which has the aim to help more than 200 women-owned small to medium enterprises (SMEs) affected by the blast.

The main aim of this fund which was created in memory of Marion Hochar Ibrahimchah, an innocent victim of the Beirut blast, is to primarily assist the most vulnerable women who are often the main family provider and who were already struggling from the multiple crises even before the explosion, to help them rebuild their businesses in sectors such as groceries, pastry shops, hospitality services, retail shops, designers, hairdressers, doctors, pharmacies and others that are located in the areas ranging from Ashrafieh, Rmeil, Gemmayze, Mar Mikhael, Karantina, Beirut district and Borj Hammoud.

Apart from the help to rebuild and equip their SMEs, women will get coaching, mentoring and training to develop and grow their businesses, in addition to psycho-social support when needed.

Thanks to its partners and donors who wholeheartedly responded to their plea right after the explosion, the Order of Malta Lebanon was able to extend its support to 19 women-led SMEs divided among the following 3 categories:

1. 9 very small businesses like grocery shops and tailors
2. 8 SMEs that maintain or create jobs and employ more than 5 people like coffee / pastries shops
3. 2 SMEs that preserve Beirut’s cultural heritage like designers and artists

Stand for Women is an NGO, established in Lebanon in 2017, advocating for women’s economic empowerment and gender equality across the Middle East and championing sisterhood.

The Lebanese Association of the Knights of Malta (LAKM) / Order of Malta Lebanon is releasing a Call for Expression of Interest (EOI) for the following:

– IT Network and Datacentre Infrastructure Vendors

The Order of Malta Lebanon has been operating in the health and social welfare sectors since 1957. It manages a network of 30 projects serving the most vulnerable populations, across the Lebanese territory including primary healthcare centers, mobile medical units, elderly day care centers, hosting centers for the differently-abled and projects for the displaced and refugees.

The Order of Malta Lebanon, with the support of its partner Malteser International (MI), has developed a comprehensive multi-annual program to strengthen its social and health services as well as its structures.

In this framework, the Lebanese Association of the Knights of Malta / Order of Malta Lebanon is looking for qualified IT network and datacentre infrastructure vendors.

If interested to apply, please click on the red title above in order to access the Terms of Reference.

The Lebanese Association of the Knights of Malta (LAKM) / Order of Malta Lebanon is releasing a Call for Expression of Interest (EOI) for the following:

– Agriculture products suppliers

The Order of Malta Lebanon has been operating in the health and social welfare sectors since 1957. It manages a network of 30 projects serving the most vulnerable populations, across the Lebanese territory including primary healthcare centers, mobile medical units, elderly day care centers, hosting centers for the differently-abled and projects for the displaced and refugees.

The Order of Malta Lebanon, with the support of its partner Malteser International (MI), has developed a comprehensive multi-annual program to strengthen its social and health services as well as its structures.

In this framework, the Lebanese Association of the Knights of Malta / Order of Malta Lebanon is looking for qualified agriculture products suppliers.

If interested to apply, please click on the red title above in order to access the Terms of Reference.

The Order of Malta endeavors to provide continuous learning and development to its personnel with the aim of constantly improving the quality of services provided to its patients. As mental health services are an integral part of patients’ health and wellbeing, the organization invested in building its frontliners and key personnel’s capabilities by holding a Mental Health GAP training to equip them with the tool to identify and refer patients suffering from mental disorders.

The training is provided by the department of psychiatry of the faculty of medicine – USJ and the Francophone Association of the Mentally Ill (AFMM), led and presented by Professor Sami Richa, with the support of his team. It will cover throughout 7 sessions key mental health disorders such as mood disorders, psychotic disorders, anxiety disorders, addictions, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders and traumatic disorders, ethical matters related to mental health care and psychotherapy.

In the first session, Prof. Richa explained how to identify the symptoms of depression and bipolar disorders saying that “17% of the population will suffer from depression at some point in their life, and 50% of patients will relapse”. He also highlighted the importance of recognizing change in behavior and the relevance of seeking the support of a mental health specialist in such circumstances. Due to prevalent stigma and shame surrounding mental health disorders, most patients suffering from those disorders will experience serious symptoms for up to 6 months before being diagnosed”. It is imperative that patients experiencing symptoms that disrupt their ability to function in life, symptoms such as sadness, tiredness, decrease of concentration, strong agitation, impulse control issues amongst other, for a period exceeding 2 weeks, consult a mental health specialist and be treated”.

“90% of people who have committed suicide suffer from a mental disorder” added Prof. Richa. It is the second cause of death worldwide amongst the age group 15 to 35 years of age and there is an attempt to suicide every 40 seconds in the world. He shed the light on several misconceptions related to suicide explaining that it can target all age groups, that a person voicing out the plan for suicide will most probably actually plan it and try to execute it; finally emphasizing on the importance of prevention and intervention.

The second session was held today as a webinar due to the Covid-19 lockdown and tackled psychotic disorders such as psychosis, schizophrenia, and delusional disorders.

In the course of the coming sessions, the remaining mental disorders will be gradually tackled, to equip our personnel with the means to intervene and support efficiently patients in need.

This training is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in partnership with Malteser International.

The Lebanese Association of the Knights of Malta (LAKM) / Order of Malta Lebanon is releasing a Call for Expression of Interest (EOI) for the following:

– NGO consultancy services in agriculture

The Order of Malta Lebanon has been operating in the health and social welfare sectors since 1957. It manages a network of 30 projects serving the most vulnerable populations, across the Lebanese territory including primary healthcare centers, mobile medical units, elderly day care centers, hosting centers for the differently-abled and projects for the displaced and refugees.

The Order of Malta Lebanon, with the support of its partner Malteser International (MI), has developed a comprehensive multi-annual program to strengthen its social and health services as well as its structures.

In this framework, the Lebanese Association of the Knights of Malta / Order of Malta Lebanon is looking for qualified NGO consultancy services in agriculture to provide the services.

If interested to apply, please click on the red title above in order to access the Terms of Reference.

The Lebanese Association of the Knights of Malta (LAKM) / Order of Malta Lebanon is releasing a Call for Expression of Interest (EOI) for the following:

– ERP Vendors

The Order of Malta Lebanon has been operating in the health and social welfare sectors since 1957. It manages a network of 30 projects serving the most vulnerable populations, across the Lebanese territory including primary healthcare centers, mobile medical units, elderly day care centers, hosting centers for the differently-abled and projects for the displaced and refugees.

The Order of Malta Lebanon, with the support of its partner Malteser International (MI), has developed a comprehensive multi-annual program to strengthen its social and health services as well as its structures.

In this framework, the Lebanese Association of the Knights of Malta / Order of Malta Lebanon is looking for qualified ERP vendors to provide the services.

If interested to apply, please click on the red title above in order to access the Terms of Reference.