The American University of Beirut (AUB) was at the forefront of the First International Conference to Rebuild the Health Sector in Gaza. The conference was held in Amman on February 7 and 8, 2024, under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein of Jordan. According to the National Arab American Medical Association, Naama.com “the conference has successfully concluded, uniting a diverse international delegation of clinical and medical experts, business leaders and policy makers from over sixty organizations and more than twenty-five countries from the Middle East, Europe, Asia, North and South America, and New Zealand.”
Key participants included ministers of health from Jordan, Palestine, Libya, and Tunisia, as well as representatives from international NGOs and renowned Arab Universities. The Center of Public Health Practice (CPHP) at the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) at AUB was one of the esteemed members of the organizing committee of the conference. Dr. Fadlo Khuri, AUB president participated in the conference along with Ms. Martine Najem, Instructor of Public Health Practice at the CPHP, FHS, AUB. Ms. Najem represented FHS at the conference and was a panelist presenting a “Public Health Approach to Rebuilding Health in Gaza” on behalf of a group of public health scholars from AUB, Palestine and the Arab region.
During a session focused on institutional academic support, President Khuri highlighted AUB’s vital role in building the capacity of medical and public health professionals. He emphasized the university's dedication to supporting the crucial rebuilding efforts in Gaza's healthcare system. President Khuri noted, For many if not most Palestinians, the American University of Beirut has long been their destination university. Generation after generation of Palestinians have been educated at and they and others have served with great distinction on AUB’s faculty for over a century. We have long led the region in the teaching and practice of world class healthcare, and will not be found short when it comes to help rebuilding a sustainable healthcare system for Gaza and its people."
Ms. Martine Najem, a leading expert in the field, presented a multi-pronged approach for the sustainable rebuilding of Gaza health. This approach emphasizes both capitalizing on the existing public health system, the engagement of all local public health actors, and long-term health infrastructure development. This multisectoral approach, recognizing the interconnectedness of health, social, environmental, and economic factors, aims to build a sustainable and resilient health system for the people of Gaza.
The conference concluded with a call for a second international meeting and culminated in a unified call to action, the Amman Declaration, in which “Participants pledged to work tirelessly towards a sustainable and resilient future for the people of Gaza.”