A high-level health expert consultation meeting was held in Beirut with 46 participants from academia, NGOs, international organizations, private health sector and public health authorities, in addition to youth representatives. The meeting focused on the use of digital health technologies to increase young refugees’ access to health information and services in Lebanon and the region, as part of the REACH Project

The consultation meeting explored steps that academia, civil society, and businesses can take to strengthen the REACH initiative through the participation and contributions of all involved parties, and a meeting outcome was the development of a long-running plan.

The meeting started with opening remarks of Columbia University and DOT Lebanon, followed by remarks from a refugee youth regarding some of the health care related challenges faced by young refugees and how digital technologies can create a change. The meeting continued with a panel of three speakers from academia and private sector, who discussed refugees’ barriers in accessing health information and health care and presented two digital health projects as examples of technology-based interventions to improve health and access to health care.

In the afternoon session, the participants were divided into three small working groups with three different themes. The groups were facilitated by Columbia University and DOT representatives and the overall aim was to get an overview of participants’ experiences and opinions on digital health interventions in addition to their recommendations regarding development of a mHealth app for youth.