Developing the ideal at home

The last century heralded a dramatic upsurge in healthcare costs in Lebanon. An aging population, the transformation of acute diseases to chronic ones and the innovation gap in pharmaceutical drug discovery despite increased funding for research have all contributed to the ‘healthcare cost crisis’. Lebanon is particularly vulnerable to this crisis given its unstable and unregulated environment. On paper, the Lebanese healthcare system is comparable to the French one.   In theory, it guarantees equity in the distribution of healthcare services, ensuring access to essential services, irrespective of people’s ability to pay for them. But this is Lebanon, and to list all the pitfalls between what healthcare is and what it should be would be a monumental undertaking. If we are to attempt to close this gap, the systemic supply, demand and coverage issues outlined in this article must be addressed.  The reality of coverage The majority of Lebanese citizens