In close collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and the Lebanese Society for Obstetrics and Gynecology (LSOG), UNFPA Lebanon kicked off the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for Sexual and Reproductive Health in Crises training in the North of Lebanon. The area covered Tripoli, the capital of the North, as well as remote areas at the border with Syria which is currently witnessing a massive influx of Syrian displaced families. The 3-days training was launched on January 2nd, 2012, by LSOG MOPH and UNFPA with the active participation of 15 service providers namely doctors, social workers, midwives and nurses. They represented service delivery points pertaining to the MOPH, Ministry of Social Affairs and NGOs, in addition to Halba Hospital that was identified as the referral center. It is expected that this enhanced knowledge will contribute to improving the well-being of the displaced as well as host families in the Northern part of the country.

The core group of trainers consisted of five professionals who attended in Cairo (2009) a MENA regional training of trainers (TOT) and representing the MOPH, the Lebanese Red Cross, International Medical Corps and the Lebanon Family Planning Association. The main goal of the TOT was to put in place a core group of well-trained health professionals on the MISP package equipped to respond to any emergencies of conflicts or natural disasters on the one hand, and to roll out training of key service providers at national level on the other. The specific objectives of the TOT were for the participants to be able to:

1. Advocate for SRH in crises

2. Apply core concepts and techniques provided in the MISP

3. Apply coordination skills for the implementation of the MISP

UNFPA Lebanon is planning throughout 2012 to expand enhancing national capacities on the MISP through a series of trainings, to cover all the country and in line with the priorities identified in UNFPA’s 2012-2013 Humanitarian Preparedness and Contingency plan.