Paper details

Paper authors	Molly Gilmour
In panel on	Building a Knowledge Base: Theories and Methods in Humanitarian Action
Paper presenter(s) will be presenting	In-Person / Online

Abstract

Lebanon hosts the largest number of refugees per capita in the world. The conflict-affected state has experienced compounding shocks impacting public health. The country is now reliant on international aid organisations. This research explored how participatory approaches can be used to facilitate meaningful dialogue with healthcare professionals and patients in an MSF-run paediatric service to support the recalibration of health equity in Lebanon. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify and interpret experiences and perceptions of accessing and providing healthcare. This approach generated deeper understandings of healthcare needs and expectations, captured opportunities and challenges of patient-centred care and led to a reimagining of humanitarian healthcare in Lebanon. The humanitarian aid sector is grappling with the discrimination embedded in its structures as decision-making powers reside in the ‘Global North’ resulting in disjuncture between perceptions and realities of need. Participatory methods can enable the emancipation of structurally marginalised ‘beneficiaries’ and staff and has the potential to redistribute power amongst the tiered actors in humanitarian aid. At a time when the humanitarian aid sector is facing questions about legitimacy, funding and accountability, this presentation details how participatory approaches can be leveraged to redesign services, decentre power and dismantle discrimination.

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