The Lancet and the American University of Beirut (AUB) through its Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) teamed up to establish The
Lancet-American University of Beirut Commission on Syria: Health in Conflict. The FHS hosts and leads the Commission and its Secretariat.
The FHS and AUB
The
Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) is a leading school of public health in the Arab and Eastern Mediterranean region. Established in 1954, it is also the oldest such school in the region. The FHS brochure, '
Health in Conflict: What we are doing' provides a snapshot of FHS' broad range of activities, spanning research, education/training, practice and outreach, in the area of conflict and health.
The FHS and AUB are well positioned to examine the Syrian conflict in light of their regional position, global outreach and ongoing involvement in the Syria crisis on the policy, practice and research fronts.
Lancet - AUB Collaboration
In addition to this Commission on Syria, The Lancet and AUB collaborate on multiple initiatives:
Health in the Arab World
Through this Commission,
The Lancet and the FHS build on
prior and ongoing collaborations to advance global discussions on health issues in the region and contribute regional perspectives on global health matters. This Collaboration has led to the seminal
Lancet series on Health in the Arab world: A view from within, published in January 2014.
The Series included an examination of the impact of the Iraq and Syrian wars on changing geography of health provision in the region. A follow up article by El-Zein et al on '
Who's been left behind? Why sustainable development goals fail the Arab world,' published in January 2016, lamented the lack of attention of SDGs to the conditions of conflict, war and armament in the region.
Health of Palestinians
The FHS contributes significantly to
The Lancet Palestinian Health Alliance. Professor Huda Zurayk, former FHS Dean and currently Professor Emerita, co-coordinates this effort with Professor Rita Giacaman, Director of the Institute of Community and Public Health at Birzeit University in Palestine. This includes FHS contributing to organizing the
Alliance's conference and occasionally co-hosting it at AUB.
Other Lancet Commissions
Several faculty members from FHS and other AUB faculties have served on prior or current Lancet Commissions:
This is the
first time an AUB faculty hosts and leads a Lancet Commission.