"Let Us Talk about Education and Health" by Karim Noujaim

1. Let
Us
Talk
about
Education
and
Health
by
Karim
Noujaim
“The
whole
purpose
of
education
is
to
turn
mirrors
into
windows.”
Sydney
J.Harris
A
sound
mind
is
one
that
is
well
bred
and
well
educated.
But,
what
would
education
serve
without
good
health?
If
education
doubles
your
chances
of
success
in
life,
good
health
simply
allows
you
to
achieve
it.
Let’s
talk
about
something
that
is
a
priority
in
my
view,
apart
from
culture,
economy
and
education
which
are
the
fruits
of
peace,
which
is
the
health
of
the
Lebanese
people.
Before
the
civil
war,
Lebanon
was
equipped
with
first-­‐class
hospital
infrastructure
with
a
market
of
health
products
that
was
the
most
efficient
in
the
Near
and
Middle
East.
The
administration
of
state
institutions
was
the
object
of
envy
of
the
leaders
of
all
the
countries
in
the
region.
Unfortunately,
the
war
has
largely
disorganized
the
health
sector
with
the
departure
of
highly
qualified
medical
personnel
in
self-­‐exile.
The
war
also
caused
an
extreme
disorganization
of
health
products
at
the
level
of
state
departments.
The
33-­‐day
war
has
also
had
a
very
negative
impact.
I
recall
a
book
written
by
doctor
and
surgeon
Jamil
Berry
“Le
Liban:
Pays
hors
Sujet?”
(Albouraq
edition,
http://www.albouraq.com).
I
also
recall
his
final
lines,
which
express
his
belief
that
the
real
concern
of
Lebanon
is
life,
and
I
cite
his
words:
“Ne
sentez-­‐vous
pas
N’imaginez-­‐vous
pas
Ne
percevez-­‐vous
pas
Ne
remarquez-­‐vous
pas
Ne
devinez-­‐vous
pas
Ne
voyez-­‐vous
pas
enfin
que
le
véritable
enjeu
est
l’EXISTENCE
même
du
Liban.”
This
call
to
peace
and
unity
from
a
man
whose
life
is
concerned
with
saving
the
lives
of
others,
expressed
in
such
a
simple
and
direct
style
that
compares
the
health
of
our
country
with
that
of
a
human
body;
with
that
he
has
touched
me
tremendously.
I
would
like
to
talk
about
the
health
sector
in
our
country
in
a
manner
that
is
more
concrete
and
less
metaphorical.
Out
of
about
168
hospitals
that
exist
in
Lebanon,
around
138
are
private
belonging
to
medical
doctors
or
to
various
religious
institutions
and
communities.
The
30
which
remain
are
state
hospitals,
and
are
only
partially
operational
due
to
lack
of
resources.
Luckily,
some
universities
contain
a
university
hospital
as
is
the
case
at
the
Hôtel-­‐Dieu
de
France
at
Saint-­‐Joseph
University
in
Beirut.
Here
are
a
few
more
figures
to
consider.
If
you
only
have
to
pay
10%
of
charges
when
you
are
ensured
with
a
private
institution,
then
you
are
in
a
position
to
benefit
from
health
care.
But
remember
that
more
than
half
of
the
Lebanese
population
does
not
have
social
insurance.
How
can
they
then
access
the
most
elementary
care?
Last
but
not
least,
social
security
refunds
seem
regularly
dysfunctional
and
cause
difficulties
for
certain
clinics
and
certain
hospitals.
And
here
again,
there’s
a
lot
to
do.

2. As
a
reminder:
the
law
in
Lebanon
requires
the
Ministry
of
Health
to
offer
to
Lebanese
citizens,
those
who
are
not
beneficiary
of
any
medical
or
health
insurance
or
who
do
not
belong
to
any
other
social
security
institution,
all
the
necessary
medication
for
the
treatment
of
cancer,
all
dialysis
surgeries
as
well
as
heart
valve
surgery.
The
disorganization
and
carelessness
in
this
sector
have
resulted
in
mismanagement
and
favoritism.
These
very
hospital
institutions
only
provide
the
country
with
about
15
thousand
beds
for
a
population
which
is
just
below
5
million
(not
counting
the
endless
number
of
refugees),
and
which
spread
in
an
uneven
manner
with
more
than
half
the
beds
concentrated
in
the
capital,
in
the
region
of
Mount
Lebanon.
I
dream
that
the
infant
mortality
rate
–
which
is
at
the
moment
15
per
thousand
–
I
dream
that
this
would
be
merely
a
bad
memory
of
the
past.
And
when
our
children
are
able
to
live
and
grow
up,
they
should
have
access
to
a
good
education.
We
should
aim
at
the
pride
of
having
at
least
89%
of
Lebanese
children
enrolled
in
primary
school,
and
thus
be
proud
to
be
a
country
with
one
of
the
highest
education
standards
in
the
Middle
East.
However,
to
this
very
day
many
of
our
villages
still
do
not
have
State
schools.
I
know
that
I
was
fortunate
enough
to
have
been
able
to
go
to
Notre-­‐Dame
de
Jamhoûr
and
to
St.
Joseph
University
and
I
always
feel
indebted
for
all
the
knowledge
that
I
have
acquired.
What
I
have
kept
of
this
period
is
a
lot
of
admiration
for
the
large
university
campuses
here
and
there,
which
have
produced
brilliant
minds
of
our
generation
who
have
enabled
us
to
be
innovators
in
solving
the
problems
of
our
era.
If
the
excellency
disciplines
contribute
to
producing
the
intellectual
and
political
elite
of
our
nation,
I
think
it
is
urgent
to
provide
the
appropriate
finances
for
the
Lebanese
universities
which
boast
a
high
quality
and
standard
of
teaching,
while
remaining
open
to
all
for
free.
It
is
not
for
nothing
that
we
have
always
shone
over
the
Mediterranean
Sea
and
the
Arab
World.
Our
people
have
had
a
special
taste
for
instruction
and
culture,
and
our
young
graduates
are
sought
out
overseas.
Just
like
me,
sometimes
they
come
back
to
help
their
country
which
needs
them.
And
to
these
new
graduates
I
say:
we
have
to
help
you
because
you
are
the
future.
All
possible
future
prospects
are
allowed
thanks
to
you.
And
all
my
thoughts
are
for
you
and
for
your
talents.
Karim
Noujaim