Karam Karam: politicians “cover up” many issues. Fouad Makhzoumi: there is a tangible shift in Prime Minister Hariri’s political speeches.

The National Dialogue Party organized a conference on healthcare policy in the presence of Mr. Fouad Makhzoumi, Dr. Ahmed Moussalli, Dr. Doureid Oueidat and his Excellency Minister Karam Karam. The conference was attended by a large number of participants including politicians and diplomats, representatives from various political parties and syndicates, as well as journalists and friends.

During his talk, Dr. Karam noted that healthcare is a right for all citizens and it is the government's duty to respect this right before expecting the citizen to fulfill his duties. Dr. Karam added that it was the government’s responsibility to introduce a healthcare system that guarantees each and every citizen access to medical care. According to Dr. Karam, the role of the Ministry of Health is not limited to overlooking the sector and providing financial assistance in certain areas, but rather it should be the architect of healthcare policy. Dr. Karam spoke of his seven-year experience as a minister, including a term as Minister of Health, during which he was faced with sectarianism, nepotism, and corruption which reasserted his ambition to restore to the Lebanese people what was rightfully theirs. Dr. Karam commented that the Lebanese healthcare system suffers from financial waste, a surplus of needs and a shortage of resources. He also noted that reform is not in the hands of the Health Minister alone, but rather needs the backing of the government and political will to make a change. Dr. Karam stated that Lebanon today falls short of being a real country and is run more like a municipality. In addition, politicians are in the habit of hiding things from the people, as is the case of the Ethiopian Airlines tragedy that took place only weeks ago. Dr. Karam ended his talk by advising the people not to believe all that politicians tell them, especially concerning the abolishing of political sectarianism, as they are drowning in political sectarianism themselves, which helped them reach their current situation in the first place.

For his part, the head of the National Dialogue Party, Mr. Fouad Makhzoumi, praised Dr. Karam for his efforts during his term in government. However, according to Mr. Makhzoumi, the problem at the time was that there was a lack of political will to back his efforts to achieve reforms.

Elsewhere, Mr. Makhzoumi commented that since 2004, there has not been an official national budget and two months into 2010, the government is still working in the absence of a national budget. Mr. Makhzoumi also expressed his concern that there are still no serious development projects that would create jobs for the Lebanese people.

Finally, Mr. Makhzoumi commented that there was a tangible shift in Prime Minister Hariri’s political speech on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of his father's martyrdom and hoped that the remainder of the March 14 politicians would follow suit.