MEMBERSHIPS AND CONTRIBUTIONS
WHO Collaborating Center
The World Health Organization designated SHBPP at AUBMC as a WHO Collaborating Center (WHO-CC) on health
ethics in January 2021, rendering it as the first collaborating center on ethics in the Arab region and part of the
global network of collaborating centers. As part of its mandate and mission, the SHBPP is committed to collaborating
with the WHO and regional partners and institutions to develop educational material and policy guidance, and to
participate in consultations on emerging issues in public health ethics and research ethics, as well as to contribute to
training activities and participate in the network of collaborating centers.
As part of the commitments of the WHO-CC, SHBPP made the following contributions to WHO activities and networks
in 2022 represented by its Founding Director:
WHO COVID-19 Ethics & Governance Working group.
• “From necropolitics to necroeducation: education during COVID -19”, talk by Dr. Arawi at the WHO-EMRO Cairo
Egypt- Webinar on Bioethics Education in the Challenging Times of COVID-19 (March 14, 2022).
• Intergovernmental negotiation body (INB) Public Hearings “The World Together”: Public hearings regarding a new
international instrument on pandemic preparedness and response. (April 12 and 13, 2022)
• The 13th annual meeting of WHO collaborating centers (July 23, 2022)
• “Artificial Reproductive Technologies in Lebanon: Questions to Wonder” talk by Dr. Arawi at the “Scientific and
Ethical Challenges in Human Reproduction: Perspectives from EMR” Hybrid Seminar organized by the Center
of Biomedical Ethics & Culture, SIUT, Pakistan and the WHO-EMRO Collaborative (December 12 & 13, 2022).
• “Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence for Health” Workshop by WHO-EMRO, Cairo, Egypt (14-16
December 2022).
• WHO technical consultation - global research agenda on health and migration (September 26, 2022).
In 2021, SHBPP founding Director Dr. Thalia Arawi continued to serve and contribute to a number of national,
regional and international professional committees, consultancy bodies, and working groups, involved in discussions and policy development on a wide range of contemporary health-related and social issues including
COVID-19, refugees, healthcare access, etc.
• Member MoPH National Vaccination Plan for COVID-19 Committee (December 2020 – February 2021):
In her
capacity as SHBPP Director and member of the national bioethics committee, as well as bioethics focal point to
the Prime Ministry, Dr. Thalia Arawi was selected as a member of the along with several national experts and
consultants and in collaboration with the World Health Organization. Accordingly, she participated in a series
of meetings which aimed to discuss the ethical concerns, set the vaccination priorities, and develop a national
vaccination plan based on the evolving situation and considerations in Lebanon.
• Health Impact Fund:
As the bioethics consultant of Health Impact Fund, SHBPP founding director contributed to
a number of meetings and discussions with consultants from across the globe and helped to provide a complementary system for the development of pharmaceutical innovations – especially ones intended for poor patients
who cannot afford expensive medicines. Dr. Arawi also introduced the HIF in a presentation to WHO-EMRO, and
gave a talk with Dr. Aidan Hollis on June 14, 2021
• International Association of Bioethics (IAB):
As a board member of International Association of Bioethics, SHBPP founding director contributed to several meetings, events, and discussions attended by colleagues from
around the globe.
• ge2
p2
Center for Informed Consent:
As a member of the ge2
p2
Global Center for Informed Consent (CID), Dr.
Arawi participated in the monthly meetings to discuss various issues relating to research ethics, informed consent,
and research in conflict settings and gave a presentation on “Consent and Assent Laws and Regulations: The
Case of Lebanon” on August 27, 2021.
• ge2
p2
Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Ethics:
As a member of the ge2
p2
Center for Disaster and Humanitarian
Ethics, Dr. Arawi participated in the monthly meetings to discuss various issues relating to research ethics,
informed consent, and research in conflict settings and gave the talk “Humanitarian Strategic Planning” on
December 1, 2021.
• ge2
p2
Center for Vaccine Ethics and Policy:
As a member of the ge2
p2
Center for Center for Vaccine Ethics and
Policy, Dr. Arawi participated in discussions on “Do children have the right to ask for vaccination without parental
consent?” (September 28, 2021
As a member of the
Preparedness Planning for Clinical Research During Public Health Emergencies (PREP) working group, Dr. Arawi
participated in the global meetings to advise on various issues relating to clinical research ethics in conflict settings
and on developing a New Framework for Ethical Decision-Making During Public Health Emergencies.
• Cambridge Working Groups on Bioethics Education (December 8, 2021):
The purpose of the Cambridge
Bioethics Education Working Groups is to encourage people and institutions to work together on developing
bioethics education in their countries. These focus groups invite others to share their information and develop
mutual projects to further how bioethics is taught in universities, hospitals, and for the general public.
