Safa Jafari, Office of Communications, communications@aub.edu.lb
A ceremony was organized by AUB and the AUB Faculty of Medicine to honor Dr. Ismail Sukkarieh for his distinguished service at the university and his advocacy for health as a human right. Numerous former students and patients, colleagues, and collaborators from various academic, professional, and geographic areas came to AUB's Issam Fares Hall to join in recognizing Dr. Sukkarieh's contributions to advance the medical service, equality, and the general wellbeing of communities around Lebanon.
Dr. Ismail Sukkarieh is a physician specializing in digestive system diseases and endoscopy, and was a politician and former member of the Lebanese Parliament for Baalbeck and Hermel in the Bekaa for the 1996 and 2005 sessions. In 1997, he established the National Health Authority and its academic health association signatory program of “Health as Right and Dignity." He served as vice president of the Lebanese physicians syndicate between 1992 and 1994 and was a member of several boards. He is also the author of three books and the recipient of many awards, including the Arab Physicians Union's appreciation award and the shield of the Lebanese physicians syndicate.
“Our honoring of Ismail Sukkarieh reaches far beyond the medical track, into the realm of human rights, social justice, and citizenship," said AUB President Fadlo Khuri in a recorded message. “For three decades and beyond, inside and outside of parliament, Dr. Sukkarieh has fought purposely for the right of every individual to access health and dignity."
After receiving his bachelor's in medicine and surgery from Cairo University in 1974, Sukkarieh joined AUB, King's College, and Columbia University to specialize in gastroenterology and endoscopy. Throughout his work that followed, from medical and academic to political and social, he was keen to bridge medical practice and research with the health needs of people in Lebanon and the region, as he continued to offer free medical treatment for more than 30 years.
Sukkarieh's colleagues spoke about his academic and professional career and the impact he has made in AUB and Lebanon. From AUB, the list of speakers included the Raja N. Khuri Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Vice President for Medical Affairs Raymond Sawaya, Professor and Head of the Division of Gastroenterology Kassem Barada, Professor and Chairman of Neurology Samir Atweh; and Professor of Public Health and Environmental and Occupational Health at AUB's Faculty of Health Sciences Iman Nuwayhid. From the Lebanese University, Dr. Christiane Saliba, professor at the Faculty of Public Health of the Lebanese University, spoke as a representative of the National Health Authority, which Dr. Sukkarieh heads.
Many more partners, students, peers, and patients across Lebanon gave their testimonials within a video about the initiatives Sukkarieh founded and his powerful message that prioritizes human dignity and equality in the right to health, inspiring generations of students in medicine, pharmacy, and public health.
“The only way to build a state of 'homeland and citizen' is to cultivate and revive a culture of citizenship that prioritizes rights—particularly health rights—and protects them with transparency, accountability, and responsibility," said Dr. Ismail Sukkarieh before he explained the role of universities in graduating leaders of citizenship, referring to President Khuri's commitment to social justice and science in the service of all of Lebanon.
“No matter how often we raise the banner of health as a right and matter of dignity, all slogans fall in the face of someone who is in pain and has no access to treatment," added Dr. Sukkarieh, who thanked all who believe in his message and supported his journey, and spoke about his lifelong commitment to the right to health and called for separating it from political considerations. “For a more accurate measure of our slogan's credibility—no matter how noble—would be the action we take when faced with human need."
With over 50 years of service, Dr. Ismail Sukkarieh is a staunch believer in equality of access to the right to health and has advocated a culture of citizenship for a better future for the region and its people.