LEBANON – The number of women dying in Lebanon from pregnancy-related complications has nearly tripled amid a three-year economic crisis that has seen doctors and midwives flee the country, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Children are also suffering as a result of the crisis, particularly among Syrian refugees who have crossed the border into Lebanon.

According to UNICEF, one-third of children will be unable to access healthcare by October 2021, and the number of children dying within the first four weeks of birth has “increased dramatically among refugees in four provinces assessed, from 65 neonatal deaths in the first quarter of 2020 to 137 in the third quarter.”

According to official estimates, Lebanon is home to 1.5 million Syrian refugees, accounting for roughly one-quarter of the country’s population.

Ettie Higgins, UNICEF Lebanon representative said, “Repeatedly, anguished parents and families are unable to access basic health care for their children – as many dedicated health workers struggle to keep operations running during the crisis.“

According to UNICEF, 40 percent of doctors, including those who work specifically with children and women, have left the country, as have 30 percent of midwives, lowering the quality of services in a country that was once regarded as a regional healthcare hub.

“Lebanon had achieved remarkable success in reducing maternal deaths, but numbers rose again between 2019 and 2021, from 13.7 to 37 deaths per 1,000 live births,” the WHO said in a report. It did not provide raw numbers.

Faysal al-Kak, coordinator of Lebanon’s National Committee on Safe Motherhood said that the number of maternal deaths in 2021 increased primarily due to the coronavirus delta variant, but the crisis was also a factor.

“The Lebanese crisis is a strong variable – maybe the mom is not visiting enough, afraid of going to the doctor because it costs money. It gave women a sense that ‘I can’t go to the doctor,” Faysal al-Kak said.

“Delta and the low vaccination rate – in addition to the compounded crisis that we live in – could have affected indirectly the accessibility, cost, and transportation.”

According to UNICEF, the rising cost of transportation and services as a result of the country’s currency collapse and the removal of most fuel and medicine subsidies has put healthcare out of reach for many.

Childhood vaccination rates have fallen, leaving hundreds of thousands of children vulnerable to diseases like measles and pneumonia.

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