Emergency medicine in Lebanon: overview and prospect.

Emergency Medicine, established in the United States as a specialty in 1979 and in Canada in 1980, is drawing interest among countries throughout Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Lebanon, located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, like many other developing countries, struggles to advance its medical system. One of the main hurdles is the continuing violence and political turmoil. Attempts at health care system recovery have been met with a number of deep-seated structural problems. Data and references regarding emergency health care are rare. This article presents an overview of the current status of Emergency Medicine in Lebanon as well as ongoing related activities over the past decade and the plans for future development.