Free First Aid Training for the Racing Industry
February 12, 2026
The humanitarian situation across the Middle East remains grave. Escalating violence is placing immense pressure on civilian populations, disrupting daily life and restricting access to essential healthcare and support. As instability deepens, vulnerable communities, including long-established Christian populations, face growing risk.
In these circumstances, the Order of Malta remains committed to maintaining its long standing presence in the region. Our priority is clear: to sustain frontline humanitarian and medical services, and to protect those facilities that serve as places of care, refuge and dignity for those most at risk.
Despite increasingly difficult operating conditions, Order of Malta teams and partners continue their work on the ground.
Palestine
In Bethlehem, the Order of Malta continues to support the Holy Family Hospital, a critically important maternity hospital serving mothers and babies in the region. The hospital provides specialist care, including for severely premature infants, and remains a vital lifeline for families at a time of profound uncertainty. Mobile teams are also prepared to resume outreach to isolated communities as soon as access conditions permit. The Holy Family Hospital’s role is regularly noted in Order of Malta Ireland’s own charitable activities and reporting, and Irish medical staff are regularly deployed the hospital.
Iraq
In Iraq, where regional insecurity continues to affect civilian life, support remains focused on vulnerable children and families. This includes assistance to local partners providing essential care for children with autism and disabilities, as well as wider humanitarian support through trusted local structures.
Syria
In Syria, worsening conditions and further displacement are adding to an already severe humanitarian burden. The Order of Malta continues to support local initiatives that provide safety, care and practical assistance to women, girls and other vulnerable groups, while also working alongside partner organisations serving communities affected by conflict and instability.
Lebanon
Lebanon has seen a further deterioration in an already fragile humanitarian situation, with conflict, displacement and insecurity adding to years of economic collapse, social hardship and institutional strain. The Order of Malta in Lebanon continues to operate across the country to support those most affected by the crisis.
The Order also mourns the tragic death of Chadi Ammar, a young staff member in Lebanon who was killed in an airstrike on the southern town of Aïn Ebel. Chadi, who was in his early twenties, worked in the Order’s agro-humanitarian department, supporting food security initiatives in the southern border region through the agricultural centre in Aïn Ebel. At the time of the strike, he was attempting to restore internet connectivity for those who had remained in the village during these difficult circumstances. His death is a profound loss for the Order of Malta in Lebanon and for the wider Order family. May he Rest in Peace.
Despite the risks, humanitarian teams remain active on the ground. Support includes healthcare and medical consultations through mobile medical units, food and hygiene distribution, psychosocial assistance and the provision of hot meals through mobile kitchens. Many temporary shelters are schools converted into emergency accommodation, where overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions create serious health concerns.
Present in Lebanon for more than sixty years, the Order of Malta is one of the country’s leading humanitarian organisations. Through a broad national network of projects and programmes, it continues to provide healthcare, social support and agricultural assistance to vulnerable communities, including displaced families, older persons, people with disabilities and those living in deep poverty.
Why this matters
For the Order of Malta, presence matters. In times of crisis, the continuation of medical, humanitarian and community services is not secondary; it is essential. Hospitals, care centres and outreach teams become anchors of stability where ordinary life has been fractured.
At a time when needs are rising, continued support is essential to sustain this work.
