Healthcare on the Edge: How Conflict Is Deepening Lebanon’s Health System Crisis

Assadour Basmajian

In Lebanon today, accessing healthcare can feel as uncertain as the security situation itself.
​Since late 2024, renewed conflict between Lebanon and Israel has placed immense pressure on an already fragile health system (MSF, 2026). Even before the escalation, official figures indicated that out-of-pocket payments accounted for around one-third of total health expenditure (World Bank, 2023). Yet, this masks a harsher reality. Following the 2019 economic collapse and the sharp devaluation of the Lebanese lira, the financial burden on households increased dramatically.
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Recent estimates suggest that out-of-pocket payments rose from around 33% in 2018 to over 85% in 2022, reflecting the collapse of financial protection mechanisms, declining insurance coverage, and the progressive dollarization of healthcare services. In some cases, patients were required to cover up to 90% of healthcare costs or seek private insurance as the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) started covering only 10% of health services (UNICEF, 2025).

This blog argues that the current conflict has not only disrupted healthcare delivery in Lebanon but has accelerated a deeper structural deterioration—transforming a weakened system into one that is increasingly unable to guarantee fair access to basic care.

A System Weakened Before the War
Lebanon’s healthcare crisis did not begin with the latest escalation; it is the result of years of systemic deterioration.

Following the 2019 economic collapse, the cost of healthcare surged as the Lebanese pound lost most of its value (Bou Sanayeh & El Chamieh, 2023). Out-of-pocket payments became the primary means of accessing care, pushing many households into financial hardship (UNICEF, 2025). Large segments of the population face significant barriers to affordable healthcare, reflecting deep structural inequities within the system, where uninsured and low-income patients are often forced to delay or forgo essential care due to unaffordable costs (LCPS, 2023).

At the same time, shortages of medicines and medical supplies became increasingly common, driven by import constraints and weak regulatory capacity (LCPS, 2025). The health system, heavily reliant on the private sector, struggled to maintain continuity of care (LCPS, 2023). These pre-existing vulnerabilities meant that Lebanon entered the current conflict with a system already under severe strain.
 
Conflict as a Force Multiplier of Health System Stress
These pre-existing vulnerabilities left the system highly exposed when conflict escalated, with the renewed violence acting as a force multiplier that has intensified existing structural weaknesses.

Airstrikes and insecurity have disrupted access to healthcare facilities, particularly in southern regions (Reuters, 2026). Several primary healthcare centers have been forced to close, while hospitals face surges in trauma cases alongside ongoing shortages of essential supplies. The World Health Organization has warned that continued violence risks overwhelming Lebanon’s already fragile health infrastructure (WHO, 2025).
Supply chains have also been severely affected. Fuel shortages, damaged roads, and insecurity have disrupted the delivery of medicines and equipment. In some cases, hospitals have reported the risk of running out of critical supplies within days (Reuters, 2026). These disruptions not only affect emergency care but also undermine the management of chronic diseases, vaccinations, and routine services.

In this context, healthcare delivery becomes reactive rather than preventive—focused on immediate survival rather than long-term health outcomes.
 
Healthcare Workers Under Pressure
Lebanon’s health workforce, once considered one of the country’s strengths, is increasingly under threat.

Even before the conflict, thousands of healthcare professionals had emigrated in search of better economic opportunities (LCPS, 2023). The current escalation has intensified this trend. Healthcare workers now face physical danger, psychological stress, and overwhelming workloads. Reports of attacks on healthcare facilities and personnel further exacerbate the situation, raising serious concerns about the protection of medical neutrality in conflict settings (The Guardian, 2026).

The loss of skilled professionals has long-term implications. A shrinking workforce reduces system capacity, increases burnout among remaining staff, and compromises the quality of care. Without targeted interventions, rebuilding this workforce will be a major challenge even after the conflict subsides.
 
Inequities in Access to Care
The impact of the crisis is not evenly distributed.

Vulnerable populations—including low-income households, rural and displaced communities, and refugees—face disproportionate barriers to accessing care (LCPS, 2023). As healthcare becomes increasingly privatized and dollarized, those without access to foreign currency are effectively excluded from services.

This growing inequality reflects a broader shift in Lebanon’s health system: from one that aimed to provide relatively broad access to one where care is increasingly determined by ability to pay (Civil Society Knowledge Center, 2023). The conflict has accelerated this shift, deepening existing social and health disparities.
 
Conclusion
Lebanon’s healthcare crisis is no longer a temporary emergency—it is becoming a structural reality.

The current conflict has exposed and intensified long-standing weaknesses, pushing the health system closer to its limits. While the system continues to demonstrate a degree of operational resilience—largely driven by healthcare workers and civil society, this resilience often reflects coping mechanisms rather than sustainable capacity (NNA, 2026). What is at stake is not only the ability to respond to war-related injuries but also the capacity to provide essential, everyday care to the population.

If the trajectory continues, the consequences might extend far beyond the immediate conflict, shaping health outcomes for years to come.

Addressing this crisis will require not only humanitarian responses, but also sustained efforts to restore financial protection mechanisms, support and retain the health workforce, and strengthen primary healthcare delivery. Without such measures, recovery will remain uncertain. The question, then, is not only how Lebanon’s health system will withstand the war, but whether it will be able to rebuild into a more resilient and equitable system once the fighting stops.
 
About the Author
Assadour Basmajian holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) in Health Policy and Management from EHESP (France) and was an intern in the Sustainability and Inclusive Development Cluster at IFI.