The Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) has been selected by the Global Network for Academic Public Health (GNAPH) as a recipient of the “This is Public Health [TIPH] Global Grant Program." This is the first TIPH Global cohort that includes 20 awardees from 18 countries. FHS is the only institution from the MENA region in the cohort!
The TIPH Global Grant Program builds on the successful TIPH media campaign started in 2008 by the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) and is launched by GNAPH, which is an alliance of public health organizations worldwide including ASPPH. The TIPH Global Grant Program provides a one-year grant to support the awardees in developing TIPH global campaigns that increase the visibility of public health in a region outside of the United States by promoting awareness of public health issues, education, and career opportunities with a specific emphasis on local communities.
FHS proposed to initiate “This is the Art of Public Health" campaign, a one-year social media campaign, which collects short testimonials about public health champions in all walks of life in Lebanon and the Arab region as they contribute to the public's wellness and health through their work or volunteer acts. The campaign aims at finding those silent heroes and highlighting their stories and their contributions to the general public's wellness. The campaign will highlight how public health as a field of study builds on these initiatives with scientific approaches and academic training. By doing so, the campaign will promote the meaning of public health, underscore that PH is a field of study and highlight career opportunities through these testimonials.
Besides the award, each institution may nominate a capable student who embodies the spirit of public health to represent it in the 2021 TIPH Global Ambassador Program. Ms. Khawla Nasser Aldeen, an MPH student concentrating in Health Promotion and Community Health, is the FHS ambassador in this cohort. The selected ambassadors are expected to take part in various activities, connecting with fellow student ambassadors and enabling them to share their inspiring stories. Khawla had a lead student representative role in the recent FHS COVID response initiative and mobilized other students to volunteer on a number of COVID-19 related projects. She served as an online volunteer with the UN Volunteer Field Unit in Lebanon where she led two national projects to map volunteer initiatives in Lebanon in response to the Beirut blast and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Show me a hero, and I will write a novel," said F. Scott Fitzgerald. “This is the Art of Public Health" campaign endeavors to discover these silent heroes and write the first chapters in the novel of their remarkable public health journeys.