LEBANON (Enmaeya News) - November 12, 2025
Rakan Nasser El‑Din, Lebanon’s Minister of Public Health, visited the Baalbek Governmental Hospital on Monday to recognise a significant humanitarian surgery initiative delivered by a U.S.-based Lebanese-American medical team.
During the visit, the minister observed that 20 free operations had been successfully performed by surgeons from Detroit, under an outreach programme organised by the Arab American Association and fully supported by equipment donations from the medical-technology firm Stryker.
“We salute these doctors’ dedication returning from abroad to serve their people without expectation,” Mr. El-Din said, while commending the hospital’s director, Abbas Shokr, for reviving the facility as part of a new drive to strengthen Lebanon’s public-health system.
Minister El-Din emphasized that the ministry is committed to leveraging expertise from Lebanon’s global diaspora. He revealed that Baalbek Hospital has recently acquired a modern CT scanner and will soon be equipped with an MRI machine and a cardiac catheterisation unit, marking important upgrades for the region.
The minister also announced that the same U.S.-Lebanese surgical team will proceed with its mission in the south of Lebanon, specifically in the town of Nabatieh.
This initiative and the broader hospital investment highlight efforts to enhance access to specialised care in Lebanon’s underserved areas, strengthen institutional capacity, and stimulate diaspora-led health partnerships.
