Abla Mehio Sibai was honored with the esteemed "State of Kuwait Health Promotion Foundation's His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Prize for Research in Health Care for the Elderly and in Health Promotion." The award was presented jointly to Dr. Sibai and the National Center for Chronic and Noncommunicable Disease Control and Prevention (China) on May 26, 2023, during the 76th Annual Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) held in Geneva, Switzerland.
Sibai is professor of epidemiology and dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut (AUB). She is the co-founder and director of the AUB University for Seniors program (UfS) and honorary president of the Center for Studies on Aging, Lebanon. Trained in cardiovascular disease epidemiology and social demography, Sibai has dedicated her career to the science of healthy aging and disease prevention. Sibai reflected in her award acceptance speech, “One of my proudest accomplishments is the co-founding of the UfS Program, an innovative and unique late-life learning initiative in Lebanon and the Arab region. It provides older adults with opportunities to learn new things, remain intellectually engaged, physically active, and socially connected. The program prioritizes health promotion and wellness over health care, and this is in alignment with WHO frameworks for successful and healthy ageing."
Sibai concluded by reaffirming her commitment to continue the fight for the seniors' rights to social protection and care, and to self-realization. A right that is needed more than ever, especially during this critical time in Lebanon. In Sibai's own words, “The prize puts on me greater responsibility to continue work in making the world a safer, more just, and dignified place for our seniors. This Prize is a tribute to all those who share this vision."
Read the press release by the National News Agency
Watch the ceremony here.