Nearly 200 Sri Lankan migrant workers in Lebanon received free medical screening at a one-day programme run by Sri Lanka’s embassy in Beirut with local Lions organisations, the embassy said.
The Medical Day was held on 27 September at the Lions Charity Center in Sin El Fil, a suburb east of Beirut, Colombo Gazette reported. Funding came from the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism.
What was offered
The range of services went beyond a basic clinic, and several of the tests are ones migrant domestic workers are unlikely to obtain through an employer:
- Dental and ear, nose and throat examinations
- Hearing assessments, including audiograms and tympanograms
- Vision tests, with eyeglasses provided to those who needed them
- Diabetes screening and HbA1c testing
- Mammography and echocardiography
The embassy described the day as a chance for workers to obtain preventive healthcare, screening and professional medical advice through a single programme. Meals, refreshments and Ceylon tea were provided.
Who organised it
The programme was coordinated under Ambassador Anura Withanage, in consultation with Lions representatives, with embassy staff assisting members of the Sri Lankan community who attended. Withanage thanked Lions governor Elias Antonios, second vice district governor Johny Abdallah, past district governors and participating clubs, along with the doctors, clinic supervisors, volunteers and centre staff, and the Foreign Employment Bureau for the funding.
Withanage presented his credentials to President Joseph Aoun in May, taking up the post alongside Sri Lanka’s envoy to Malaysia. The embassy described the initiative as part of the mission’s continuing welfare work with Sri Lankan migrants in Lebanon — a community whose position has been repeatedly exposed during the country’s economic collapse and the cross-border strikes of recent years.
A note on timing
The event took place on 27 September; Colombo Gazette’s report appeared on 3 October, six days later. The dates are given here as the report gives them rather than treating the filing date as the date of the event — Colombo Gazette carries mission and agency statements some days after the fact.
Not reported
The report does not say how many Sri Lankans currently work in Lebanon, how many sought treatment and could not be seen, what the programme cost, whether any worker was referred for follow-up care, or whether further medical days are planned. LankaNewz found no other newsroom filing on the event.
