The World Health Organization has dispatched its first overland convoy of medical equipment to Beirut, carrying 22 metric tonnes of life-saving medicines and supplies. The shipment is enough to support treatment for 50,000 patients, including 40,000 surgical interventions.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the supplies will help Lebanon's health system, which is facing mounting pressure from rising needs, mass displacement, and critical shortages of medicines, supplies, and fuel.
The convoy is part of a new route established by WHO's Global Logistics Hub in Dubai to keep supplies moving amid growing logistics disruptions in the Middle East region.
Lebanon has been affected by the broader Middle East war, with over 1,000 people killed in Israeli strikes and ground incursions. The WHO has recorded 63 attacks on healthcare targets in Lebanon, resulting in 51 deaths and 91 injuries.
WHO calls for the protection of healthcare and urges all parties to choose the life-saving path to peace.
