As part of continued UNIFIL support to host communities and in order to enhance local medical capabilities, the mission’s Finnish peacekeepers recently donated an anesthesia machine to a public hospital in Marjayoun, south-eastern Lebanon, last week.

The new machine replaces one that was aged and inoperative. The support is particularly significant as Lebanon is reeling from multiple crises due to the COVID-19 pandemic and politico-economic turmoil.

Speaking during a handover ceremony on 20 August, the Commanding Officer of the Finnish contingent, Lt. Col. Hannu Koivisto, highlighted the importance of healthcare and assured the community that the Finnish Contingent is committed to implementing UNIFIL mandate while supporting the local population.

Finland deployed its first peacekeepers to UNIFIL in 1982, and since then they have been serving for the greater part of nearly four decades. Currently, UNIFIL’s more than 160 Finnish peacekeepers are among more than 10,200 troops from 46 countries.

(UN photos / Viljami Honkiniemi, Finnish Contingent)