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Blog Authors

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Lina Sabra

Executive Director of Salama, the Lebanese Association for Family Health

Lina Sabra is the Executive Director of Salama, the Lebanese Association for Family Health.

Articles by Lina Sabra

A portrait of Lina Sabra standing with volunteers.

Our Lebanese clinics are in Beqaa, and Beqaa is under fire.

As attacks in Lebanon intensify, thousands are being forced to flee. Critical infrastructure, including healthcare facilities, have been severely damaged. IPPF Member Association, SALAMA, which once served thousands in Beqaa, has had to shut its clinics. Despite these immense challenges, including the displacement and loss of homes for staff, Lina Sabra and her team remain dedicated to the cause. Even while displaced themselves, they continue to provide essential sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services to local communities. In this interview, Lina reflects on her experiences, the obstacles they face, and the crucial importance of SRH services during a humanitarian crisis.    Tell me about SALAMA's work before the escalation. We had two clinics in Beqaa providing comprehensive sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, including postnatal care, home visits and outreach sessions in municipalities, homes, schools and orphanages. We supported about 50,000 to 60,000 people annually.  Before Lebanon’s economic crisis, 80% of our beneficiaries were Syrian refugees. But since the economic crisis, this changed to 70% Lebanese. The economic situation made private healthcare unaffordable, so people rely on us for high-quality services at a low cost. They like that our services are youth-friendly, and our staff and volunteers are trained in human rights and gender-based approaches.   Young people are crucial to our work. They don’t typically seek SRH services from private doctors, but they feel comfortable coming to our youth-friendly clinics. We work closely with youth volunteers who help in the clinics every day, collecting data, registering and conducting voluntary counselling and testing for HIV (VCT).  We always ask the beneficiaries for feedback, and we plan based on their recommendations. They love how we deal with them, how we treat them, how we communicate with them. 

A portrait of Lina Sabra standing with volunteers.

Our Lebanese clinics are in Beqaa, and Beqaa is under fire.

As attacks in Lebanon intensify, thousands are being forced to flee. Critical infrastructure, including healthcare facilities, have been severely damaged. IPPF Member Association, SALAMA, which once served thousands in Beqaa, has had to shut its clinics. Despite these immense challenges, including the displacement and loss of homes for staff, Lina Sabra and her team remain dedicated to the cause. Even while displaced themselves, they continue to provide essential sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services to local communities. In this interview, Lina reflects on her experiences, the obstacles they face, and the crucial importance of SRH services during a humanitarian crisis.    Tell me about SALAMA's work before the escalation. We had two clinics in Beqaa providing comprehensive sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, including postnatal care, home visits and outreach sessions in municipalities, homes, schools and orphanages. We supported about 50,000 to 60,000 people annually.  Before Lebanon’s economic crisis, 80% of our beneficiaries were Syrian refugees. But since the economic crisis, this changed to 70% Lebanese. The economic situation made private healthcare unaffordable, so people rely on us for high-quality services at a low cost. They like that our services are youth-friendly, and our staff and volunteers are trained in human rights and gender-based approaches.   Young people are crucial to our work. They don’t typically seek SRH services from private doctors, but they feel comfortable coming to our youth-friendly clinics. We work closely with youth volunteers who help in the clinics every day, collecting data, registering and conducting voluntary counselling and testing for HIV (VCT).  We always ask the beneficiaries for feedback, and we plan based on their recommendations. They love how we deal with them, how we treat them, how we communicate with them.