المَوْلِف العالمي يوافق على تمويل طارئ للحفاظ على خدمات السل وHIV في لبنان والعراق - تحديثات

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has approved US$1.48 million in emergency funding to sustain critical tuberculosis (TB) and HIV services in Lebanon and Iraq after the regional humanitarian crisis severely disrupted access to healthcare. The emergency allocation will run from 1 July 2026 through 30 June 2027 and targets diagnostics, laboratory capacity, mobile clinics, drug procurement and community outreach in crisis-affected areas.

"The emergency funding... will help sustain TB and HIV services by supporting diagnostics, laboratory capacity, sputum transport systems and mobile clinics, as well as TB screening, treatment and DOT," the Global Fund said, outlining the scope of interventions to be implemented in collaboration with partners.

Context and planned interventions

The financing will be channelled through the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in coordination with national health authorities, the World Health Organization (WHO) and civil society partners. Planned measures are aimed at preventing treatment interruptions, bolstering case detection and addressing the growing risk of drug-resistant TB amid mass displacement and damaged health infrastructure.

• Duration: 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027.
• Funding amount: US$1.48 million.
• Implementing partners: International Organization for Migration (IOM), national health authorities, World Health Organization, civil society partners.
• Key activities: diagnostics and laboratory strengthening, sputum transport systems, mobile clinics, TB screening and Directly Observed Therapy (DOT), procurement of TB and drug-resistant TB medicines, expanded community-based TB/HIV outreach, and nutritional support for patients.

Since early 2026, intensifying conflict across the Middle East has reignited a severe humanitarian crisis with acute impacts in Lebanon and Iraq and spillover effects in neighbouring countries. Massive displacement now exceeds 15 million people across the region, creating crowded living conditions that elevate the risk of communicable diseases, particularly TB.

In Lebanon, renewed hostilities in 2026 have displaced more than 1 million people, many of whom are living in overcrowded temporary shelters. The crisis has damaged 15 hospitals, led to the closure of six hospitals and 46 primary healthcare centres, and compounded the effects of a longstanding economic crisis, further weakening an already fragile health system. These disruptions have curtailed access to TB and HIV services, especially for displaced and high-risk populations.

Iraq faces a protracted humanitarian situation and is hosting nearly 1 million internally displaced persons, 350,000 refugees and 370,000 migrants from across the region. Escalating instability since early 2026 has intensified population movements, strained supply chains and limited access to healthcare — conditions that increase the risk of TB transmission, delayed diagnosis and treatment interruption, notably among high-risk and hard-to-reach groups including detainees.

Outlook

The Global Fund’s Emergency Fund, established in 2014, is designed to provide rapid and flexible financing to maintain continuity of HIV, TB and malaria programmes during crises. Between 2014 and December 2024, the Emergency Fund committed more than US$149 million to support countries affected by conflict, environmental disasters and other acute crises. The newly approved US$1.48 million allocation aims to stabilize TB and HIV service delivery in Lebanon and Iraq over the next year, but the scale of displacement and infrastructure damage suggests sustained international coordination and additional resources will be required to fully restore access and prevent a rise in drug-resistant infections.