Three years into a devastating economic crisis, the situation in Lebanon remains on a downhill slope with more and more economic sectors collapsing, snowballing the magnitude of the economic woes. Severe shortages in food, clothing, fuel, and medicines remain a serious threat to the lives of the majority of the Lebanese population. With a surge in healthcare prices, following the devaluation of the local currency by more than 90%, as well as the global market disruption of the Coronavirus pandemic, treatment and medicines are out of reach of the of the populace—with more than 70% under the poverty line. These shortages are also impacting the economically favoured households. The increasing number of essential outpatient and inpatient medication missing from the local hospitals and pharmacies, has made it virtually impossible to obtain these medicines domestically; and the only solution is to import them—a very costly solution, costing anywhere from 10 to 20 times the local rate.

The story of Rita Sfeir is a testament to this tragic situation. Suffering from Multiple Myeloma, a type of cancer of plasma cells that are found in the bone marrow, Rita’s battle against this life-threatening disease was only made possible with the help of a specialized drug, no longer available in Lebanon.

Importing a month-long supply of this medication will require Rita to shell-out USD8000, a sum she cannot afford. Unfortunately, this costly medication is not the only obstacle thwarting Rita’s fight for her life; this drug treatment is only a necessary precursor to a very expensive medical operation: an autologous transplant procedure.

“The autologous stem cell transplant is an intricate and costly procedure,” explains Dr. George Khoueiry, a board member at Atallah Foundation USA, “during which Rita’s own stem cells are removed from the bone marrow or peripheral blood before the transplant. The cells are stored until they are needed for the transplant. Then, she will receive a follow-up treatment such as high-dose chemotherapy, sometimes with radiation, to kill the cancer cells. When this is complete, their stored stem cells are given back into their blood through a vein.”

When the heartrending story of Rita Sfeir reached us at the Atallah foundation, we decided to launch this campaign, and help save the life of this dutiful mother of two. As always, we are relying on the humanity and generosity of people like you, who want to take part in the saving of a human life.