With a WASH mandate, the Lebanese Organization of Studies and Training (LOST), in partnership with UNICEF, UNHCR, and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), was able to save about 500 Syrians in Yammouneh village from a serious skin disease that could have put their health at stake.
In one of the hygiene promotion sessions, a LOST officer noticed the symptoms of certain skin problem on some of the beneficiaries. He immediately reported it to the head quarter that referred the case to the health department. In coordination with UNICEF and UNHCR, MSF was contacted to deal with the situation. An MSF mobile clinic was immediately delegated, and it was discovered that scabies has been spread among the residents of Yammouneh Syrian refugee Informal Tent Settlements (ITS).
The delegated team tested all the ITS residents and treated the affected ones. They distributed the necessary medicine for them. Moreover, they decided to hand out mattresses, pillows, and new clothes to get rid of the old infected stuff. For awareness raising reasons, the team gave the ITS residents brochures and informative materials on how to avoid the reoccurrence of the problem and how to deal with it.
The immediate response of LOST, UNICEF, and UNHCR and the two-day recovery plan designed and implemented by MSF saved the health of more than 500 Syrian refugees and their surrounding Lebanese host community from an inevitable disaster.
