Help for Syrian Children with Physical or Mental Disabilities

In Lebanon, Syrian refugees have hardly any access to the healthcare system

In terms of population, Lebanon has taken in the most Syrian refugees worldwide. The majority of these people live in absolute poverty as they have no opportunity to work due to the severe economic crisis in the country and receive no support from the state. They live in poor conditions in refugee settlements. They are also denied access to the largely privatised healthcare system because they cannot afford medical treatment.

Children with physical and mental disabilities in particular are completely underserved

Among the Syrian refugees, children with physical or mental disabilities are particularly in need of special care. Most families are unable to meet their needs for specialised therapies. Either because they can’t afford them, or because they can’t afford them in the constant struggle for their existence.

Cap Anamur has been working in Lebanon since 2016 to offer Syrian refugees free access to medical care. We are travelling to various refugee settlements in the south of the country with a mobile clinic. We cover the costs of examinations, treatments and medication.

With a physiotherapy surgery, we offer the children individual therapy options

In 2018, we opened a physiotherapy surgery in the Lebanese city of Sidon, where we treat children with physical and mental disabilities.

Eleven-year-old Nour has been undergoing treatment with us for over three years. She was diagnosed by our doctors with quadriplegia and hip dislocation and has a leg length difference of 7 cm. She could hardly move and could only crawl with difficulty.
She has been undergoing physiotherapy at our Cap Anamur centre for three years and was fitted with a full leg orthosis two years ago. This has helped her to achieve complete freedom of movement in both knee joints and to bear more weight on her legs. She can now walk with the help of the walker and go up and down stairs.

This development is an important step for the Syrian girl in gaining more independence through improved mobility. Her family has also learnt to support Nour in her therapy through our physiotherapists. This is because many exercises also need to be done at home to ensure that the eleven-year-old continues to develop well.

We currently support up to 40 girls and boys with our physiotherapy in all these areas. Demand is much higher, as an increasing number of Lebanese families can no longer afford therapy for their children.