Escalating military activity and bombardments between Israeli forces and Hezbollah along Lebanon's southern border have forced thousands of people to flee border towns and seek refuge further north or in major cities.

In response, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Tuesday (January 9) that it has deployed mobile clinics to support two health centers in Nabatieh district, south Lebanon, by caring for patients with chronic diseases and providing psychological first aid to displaced people who are without essential goods and medicines.

Organization supports those forced to interrupt treatment

"When people are displaced, they are forced to leave their homes abruptly, interrupting their treatment, especially for those with chronic diseases," MSF mobile team member, Dr Aida Hassouni, was quoted by the medical charity as saying in a statement.

"With uncertainty about when they can return, we're here to bridge that gap by offering chronic disease care. This ensures that individuals can continue their treatment until they can resume their regular lives."

Lebanon's healthcare system, like other sectors in the country, was already affected by a four-year-long economic crisis which has pushed two out of three citizens into poverty, heavily impacting their ability to afford basic goods and services, including food and healthcare.

Local health centers, which are already at capacity, could face increasing pressure if they contend with the growing medical needs of displaced people, MSF noted.

Emergency response

"People need mattresses, clothes and medication," Abbas Chite, from Kfarkila in southern Lebanon, was quoted as saying by the charity in the statement. "We left everything behind when the bombardment became heavy. We can't even go back to get our medical prescriptions or clothes."

Abbas used to work in the construction industry, but now there is no work available, leaving him unable to support his family, MSF said.

"I work in construction, but everything has stopped since the beginning of the (economic) crisis," he was quoted as saying.

Since October, MSF said its teams have pre-positioned ten tonnes of medical supplies in various hospitals and medical facilities in Lebanon. The teams have also provided training to hospital staff across the country in emergency trauma care and the management of mass casualty events, in accordance with the ministry of public health's emergency preparedness and response plan and in cooperation with other health partners.

More than one hundred medical personnel were trained in nine hospitals over the course of three weeks, the organization explained.