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Amid Ongoing Conflict, Insulin Departs for Children in Lebanon

Direct Relief shipped enough insulin to a specialized pediatric medical center to treat 1,200 children with Type 1 diabetes for six months.

News

Diabetes

A man in a heavy yellow coat with the hood over his face carries a brown cardboard box to an insulated container in front of shelves full of orange boxes.
A six-month supply of insulin for children with Type 1 diabetes in Lebanon is being carefully packed and temperature-controlled at Direct Relief’s warehouse before departure. Bound for the Chronic Care Center in Baabda, the shipment includes 5,700 packs of rapid-acting insulin—enough to support 1,200 children who rely on it to survive. (Photo by Shannon Hickerson for Direct Relief)
By Talya Meyers

A six-month supply of insulin for children with Type 1 diabetes in Lebanon departed Direct Relief’s warehouse today.

The shipment is bound for the Chronic Care Center in Baabda, outside of Beirut, which specializes in caring for children with Type 1 diabetes.

Containing 5,700 packs of a rapid-acting analog insulin in prefilled pens, this donation will support 1,200 children who depend on insulin to survive. This amount of insulin is sufficient to meet their needs for about six months.

It departs during a challenging time, when instability has compromised shipping lanes and made logistics throughout the region more complicated. At such moments, maintaining reliable supplies of lifesaving medications becomes even more critically important.

Direct Relief’s logistical operations team has evaluated the available shipping pathways and current weather conditions to create the safest possible plan. The organization must ensure that the insulin, which must remain in a narrow range of temperatures under meticulous packing and monitoring, will arrive safely at its destination despite the challenges.

A man in a yellow and black coat reaches into a tall gray shipping container filled with cardboard packaging and marked with "Store and Transport in Refrigeration +2C to +8C" and the Lebanese flag.
Direct Relief staff prepare insulin for cold-chain transport to the Chronic Care Center in Lebanon on March 27. (Photo by Tori Gordon for Direct Relief)

The Chronic Care Center is a nonprofit, specialized institution for children with Type 1 diabetes or thalassemia. They provide medical care, medications, and supplies for monitoring to thousands of patients, many of whom rely on the Center for lifesaving care.

Ensuring a reliable supply of medications is essential in Lebanon, which has confronted economic collapse, a devastating explosion at Beirut’s port in 2020 that compromised the nation’s stock of medications, and the reduction of government subsidies that caused the prices of insulin and other medications to spike. These events have caused shortages of critical medicines that have made it harder for many vulnerable people in Lebanon to access the treatments they need to survive.

Many thousands of people, including children, with chronic diseases have been put at risk because of economic downturn and ongoing conflict in the region. When continuity of care is threatened by disaster or conflict, health complications from diabetes can swiftly spiral out of control, leading to potentially deadly conditions like kidney failure and diabetic ketoacidosis.

The Chronic Care Center, too, has struggled to maintain reliable supplies of insulin and other essential medications. Direct Relief began supporting the Center’s work in 2022, providing insulin, medical supplies for injection, and medical equipment for reliable cold-chain storage, ensuring that temperature-sensitive medicines remain in pristine condition.

A man in a yellow vest operates a pallet jack to lift a large gray shipping container with the flag of Lebanon on its side. Two additional shipping containers wait alongside in a warehouse, under many world flags hanging from the ceiling.
Insulin bound for the Chronic Care Center in Baabda, Lebanon is loaded for transport on March 27. (Photo by Tori Gordon for Direct Relief)

Direct Relief’s last shipment to the Center occurred in December of 2025.

The organization is currently evaluating other medical requests from the region, and will continue to monitor and assess healthcare needs in the coming days and weeks.

Direct Relief works actively in Lebanon and has provided significant support to the country’s healthcare system over several years. In the past year alone, Direct Relief shipped $24.7 million in material medical aid to the Chronic Care Center and other partners in Lebanon, as well as awarding $30,000 in grant funding.

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