BEIRUT: Health Minister Wael Abu Faour met Wednesday with Justice Minsiter Ashraf Rifi over integrated efforts to battle corruption.
“The fight against corruption means that reform can't take place without an active judiciary,” Abu Faour said after a meeting with the justice minister, noting that that judiciary remains “the most effective and influential deterrent” against corruption.
The health minister said that the success of the fight against corruption is contingent on a “judicial revival.” In that pursuit, the duo agreed on suggesting the formation of a specialized health court tasked with overseeing health issues pertaining to food safety or hospital cases, he said.
For his part, Rifi, who lauded the health minister’s food safety campaign, said that the “judiciary is fully ready and is proceeding with every case that is referred to it.”
The justice minister voiced his support for the formation of a specialized health court in coordination with the health ministry. “But this issue will take a relatively long time,” he said.
Rifi announced that until the law is drafted, Lebanon’s state prosecutor has called on all district attorneys to make health cases a priority and dedicate ample time to them.
During the meeting, Abu Faour inquired about the cases of 12 Beirut slaughterhouse employees who suffered from cancer, allegedly as a result of the abattoir's unsafe conditions.
According to Rifi, the duo agreed on forming a medical committee that would work with the Order of Physicians in Lebanon to determine the link between the prevalence of cancer cases among the slaughterhouse's employees and working conditions in the abattoir. The justice minister expressed his belief that “it was no coincidence” that all the 12 cancer patients worked in the same place.
The health minister also followed up on a case that was submitted in 2008, regarding a “network of people” who sold cancer medication that was revealed to be nothing more than water. Abu Faour, who was aware that the case was referred to the judiciary, said that he wasn’t privy to measures taken against the perpetrators. One of the perpetrators, according to the health minister, is the owner of an unnamed hospital.
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