The World Health Organization (WHO) has released $2 million in emergency funds to bolster health systems in Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria as US and Israeli strikes on Iran continue and Iranian counterstrikes ripple across the region, as reported by UN News. The funds — drawn from donor contributions — will support emergency coordination, trauma care, disease surveillance, and access to essential medicines. The announcement comes as WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that “as casualties rise, so do attacks on healthcare, which are increasing the burden on health systems at a time when they are most needed.”
Lebanon is absorbing some of the heaviest blows. Since March 2, there have been 27 verified attacks on healthcare facilities in the country, killing at least 30 people — including 14 health workers in southern Lebanon in a single 24-hour period. Twelve doctors died in a late-night strike on the Bourj Qalauoiyeh primary healthcare center, and two paramedics were killed in a separate attack.
In Iraq, health services are strained near strike zones and areas of violent unrest, with $500,000 allocated to support emergency coordination and mass casualty management. Syria will receive another $500,000 for medicines, supplies, and disease surveillance for displaced populations. WHO regional director Dr. Nana Balkhy stressed that at a time of significant aid cuts, support for frontline health workers is not optional — it is essential.
UN peacekeepers with UNIFIL in southern Lebanon also came under fire during three separate patrol incidents over the weekend, with hostile fire from non-state armed groups hitting as close as five meters from peacekeepers near Yatar. UN Secretary-General António Guterres, concluding a solidarity visit to Beirut, called any attack on UN blue helmets “completely unacceptable” and reiterated that civilians must never be targets.
Before the bombing campaign against Iran began, WHO’s 2026 regional appeal stood at $633 million — and as of March, it was only 37% funded. The gap between what is needed and what is available could not be more stark.
