A meeting was held on March 24, 2015 at the offices of the Director General of the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Walid Ammar to discuss the Hepatitis B vaccination campaign  among people who inject drugs. This campaign is being launched in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health and the Middle East and North Africa Harm Reduction Association (MENAHRA). Representatives of CSOs were invited to the meeting to discuss best practices for the prevention of Hepatitis B and to ensure maximum coverage of the vaccination program.

 The Director of the National Hepatitis Program, Dr. Antoine Abi Rashed, began the meeting by providing a briefing on the situation of viral Hepatitis infections in Lebanon. He stressed the urgent need for the vaccination campaign to protect the population at risk.

The Executive Director of MENAHRA, Mr. Elie Aaraj, stated that Lebanon is a pioneer country in the region to launch a campaign that will include a Harm Reduction program on Hepatitis in the government’s public health policy. MENAHRA’s role in this campaign will be the coordination of the program in collaboration with the participating CSOs.

Dr. Walid Ammar stressed the need for awareness campaigns on Hepatitis B and C as well as the need to train CSOs on the administration of Hepatitis B vaccination.

The following CSOs were represented in the meeting: Ms. Karine Nassar – the Director of SIDC, Ms. Nadya Mikdashi – the Executive Director of Skoun, Ms. Joanna Imad – the Program Coordinator of AJEM, Mr. Raffi Kaypekian – the Operational Director of Cenacle de la Lumiere, Mr. Majid Hamato – the General Director of Tajamoh, and Ms. Rima Turk – the Executive Director of Nusroto Associations.