The new ministry building, located in Bir Hassan next to the Rafik Hariri University Hospital, was inaugurated in September 2010 under the patronage of then Health Minister Mohammad Khalifeh. It is the first ministry building in Lebanon that will have a single floor to carry out transactions and necessary documentation, easing bureaucracy measures for citizens and employees alike.
Chairman of the Council of Development and Construction Nabil Jisr, who attended the opening ceremony along with Health Minister Wael Abu Faour and other officials, said that the project was necessary, as the ministry receives a high volume of people on a daily basis, similar to that of the interior and education ministries.
"I want to thank everyone who contributed to this project and especially the United Arab Emirates embassy which provided a piece of land that will be used for parking," Jisr said.
Abu Faour, who was representing Prime Minister Tammam Salam, said the new building would decrease inconvenience for patients, who he said used to wait for a long period of time on staircases in the old building before reaching the relevant department to carry out their paperwork.
"The ministry of health will remain a ministry for the poor and the sick, without discrimination," Abu Faour said.
Since November 2014, the ministry has led a strict, nationwide campaign to crackdown on food, water, medical and cosmetic establishments violating basic health and safety standards, and permanently or temporarily shutting down hundreds of institutions.
The campaign was initially met with harsh criticism from some people, who were new to such governmental monitoring; however, Abu Faour vowed that the campaign would become permanent, and that violators would be held accountable.
A new food safety law passed in Parliament in November 2015.
The new law will see the creation of an independent food safety commission to develop specific standards and regulations, and oversee their enforcement. The Cabinet will appoint seven experts to five-year terms to the Lebanese Commission of Food Safety.
The new law mandates safety standards for the entire chain of food preparation, from the farm to the trucks, to the slaughterhouses and the markets and the restaurant kitchens, to the dinner table.
The law was an amended version of one created by late Economy Minister and Beirut MP Basil Fuleihan in the early 2000s.
dailystar
-190903103849079.jpg)
