Title: Keen Sight Fund healthcare initiatives in post-conflict Lebanon

Authors: Mohamad Fadl Haraké; Virginie Nahas; Nada Khaddage-Soboh

Addresses: CEREGE Research Centre, IAE de Poitiers, IAE School of Management, University of Poitiers, 20, Rue Guillaume VII le Troubadour Bât.E1 – TSA61116, 86073 POITIERS Cedex 9, France ' Department of Finance and Economics, College of Business Administration, American University of the Middle East, 220 Dasman, 15453, Egaila, Kuwait ' Adnan Kassar School of Business (AKSOB), Lebanese American University (LAU), Beirut, Lebanon

Abstract: This study examined the work and processes of non-governmental entities providing sustainable healthcare services through humanitarian action in post-conflict environments and highlights the significance of peacebuilding through public healthcare services. Here, Keen Sight Fund (KSF), a Lebanon-based non-governmental ophthalmology fund, was studied. Using multi-method qualitative methodology, the KSF's initiation, the establishment of partnerships with local and international NGOs, a field mission to a remote dispensary, and its awareness campaigns from 2016 to 2020 were observed. KSF volunteer physicians, a public sector official, and partnered NGO officials were interviewed. Discussions were also held with 42 focus-group participants, and members of households that had benefitted from KSF services. Study results indicate that local humanitarian actions, led by volunteer physicians backed by international financial support, form the best approach to rebuilding healthcare services in post-conflict settings. The study further highlights the importance of social investment in communal work.

Keywords: post-conflict environment; social investment; public sector; sustainable healthcare services; peacebuilding; NGOs; humanitarian action; Lebanon.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSD.2022.127963

International Journal of Sustainable Development, 2022 Vol.25 No.3/4, pp.267 - 284

Received: 04 Jun 2021
Accepted: 13 Jun 2022
Published online: 22 Dec 2022 *

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