IMC is providing medical care (including mental health care for children), training for health care workers, and supplies for medical facilities and for families made homeless by the fighting.
Since the start of fighting in July 2006, over 1,000 Lebanese civilians have been killed, one-third of them children. An estimated 800,000 were displaced by the conflict. The needs in Lebanon in the wake of this conflict cannot be overstated. In southern Lebanon where IMC works, unexploded bombs litter the ground and in some villages 60% of all homes were destroyed. Families have been torn apart, children have been handicapped, and many have been left with nowhere to live or work.
During the conflict, 95% of IMC’s patients were women and small children. One of IMC’s most innovative programs teaches children, through play, song, and puppets, how to avoid unexploded bombs and how to cope with loss.
IMC’s work includes training and capacity-building for long term impact. IMC has been chosen as the leading health provider by the Lebanese Ministries of Health and Social Affairs, the World Health Organization, and American University of Beirut.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).