Annual Report 2010 | 2011 - Columbia Global Centers

Public Health
In coordination with the Mailman School of Public Health (MSPH) at Columbia University, the Center is
formalizing the establishment of a program in Public Health, which will provide technical support to stakeholders
in the health sector and develop training and capacity building programs for public health professionals in Jordan
and throughout the Middle East. The training programs will address gaps identified by, and in partnership with
local and regional institutions.
The foundation for the program was largely laid by a visit to Jordan in February 2010 by Neil Boothby, Mailman’s
Director of the Program on Forced Migration and Health. During this visit, Professor Boothby initiated a needs
assessment study and began establishing a foundation of partnerships for future programming, and his work was
extended by Dr. Jamie Eliades, a consultant with MSPH and senior public health professional.
Some areas of focus are:
Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) – The Center and the Global Health Initiative (GHI) at MSPH
jointly organized a reception and panel discussion, titled, “NCDs and the Middle East: Principles, Priorities and
Partnerships” on September 19 in New York City, in conjunction with the UN Summit on Non-Communicable
Diseases. The discussion brought together a group of high-level officials and public health professionals from
across the Middle East, including: Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman. A
representative from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
(UNRWA) also joined the meeting.
The event was initiated by introductory remarks by Linda Fried, Dean of the Mailman School of Public
Health, as well as brief comments on regional challenges and opportunities from Wafaa El-Sadr, Professor
of Epidemiology and Medicine and Director of both GHI and the International Center for AIDS Care and
Treatment Programs (ICAP). The meeting also featured reflections from representative delegations of the
various countries. The discussion—influenced by the UN Summit’s goal of determining a global strategy to
address NCDs—highlighted critical dimensions of the challenge NCDs pose in the Middle East and the Gulf
region and the progress that has been made to date in addressing these challenges, in addition to identifying
areas of potential collaboration between Columbia University, the Columbia Global Centers | Middle East
and individual countries.
Family Healthcare – In keeping with global and regional trends, UNRWA aims to introduce a Family Health
Team (FHT) approach to ensure comprehensive, patient-centered care. The particular focus is on proper
management of NCDs, which are by far the leading cause of death—almost 80%—among refugees. One
key element of the FHT approach is teamwork development, which involves the re-orientation of service
structures and roles of staff, including doctors, nurses, and paramedics, so that multifunctional teams can
provide comprehensive primary healthcare.
The Center and MSPH are teaming up with UNRWA to pilot the FHT approach in two health centers in
the West Bank. Technical assistance will also be provided by MSPH experienced family health specialists, in
particular on proper monitoring and evaluation of family health team pilot activities, in addition to input
on the development of FHT clinical and managerial guidelines. The Center, MSPH and UNRWA are also
holding discussions with the Jordanian Ministry of Health on the possibility of piloting this initiative in
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