The Cli-Health Program (CHP) at the Global Health Institute (GHI) at the American University of Beirut (AUB) convened senior policymakers, academic leaders, health professionals, civil society representatives, and technology experts for a high-level dialogue on strengthening climate-resilient health systems across the MENA region. Held at AUB, the event marked the official launch of GHI’s new online Certificate in Climate Change and Health, a regionally tailored program for professionals interested in developing a deeper understanding of the topic.
Opening the event, Nour El Arnaout, associate director at AUB GHI, underscored that climate change is no longer an environmental issue alone but a structural health systems challenge. In a region facing intensifying heat, water scarcity, food insecurity, air pollution, and displacement, she emphasized that embedding climate resilience into governance, workforce development, and institutional planning is essential to safeguarding health systems.
In his keynote address, Dr. Rakan Nassereddine, minister of public health in Lebanon, highlighted the implications of climate change for national health security. He stressed the need to move beyond fragmented interventions toward coordinated governance, sustainable financing, and cross-sectoral alignment to future-proof Lebanon’s health system.
Delivering the scientific keynote, Dr. Mey Jurdi, chairperson of the Environmental Health Department at AUB’s Faculty of Health Sciences, presented evidence from a national vulnerability assessment of healthcare facilities, revealing significant risks in workforce readiness, infrastructure, energy, and WASH systems. She called for integrating climate resilience criteria into accreditation and institutional standards to ensure preparedness and sustainability.
The newly launched Certificate in Climate Change and Health was presented as a direct response to a global mapping study conducted by GHI, which identified the absence of a structured, multilingual, region-specific capacity-building program in MENA. Offered in Arabic and English, the certificate equips professionals with practical tools to integrate climate resilience into health systems and institutions, moving beyond short-term projects toward long-term institutional transformation.
A panel discussion featuring Farah Jradi, national public health officer from the International Organization of Migration (IOM) Lebanon; Dr. Rannia El Sayed, regional director at Pathfinder International; Abir Kurdi Alame, president of the Order of Nurses in Lebanon; and Leonida Mutuku, artificial intelligence director at the Local Development Research Institute in Kenya reinforced that building climate-resilient health systems requires linking evidence to policy, strengthening the frontline workforce and community capacity, modernizing health education standards, and leveraging digital innovation and AI responsibly in low-resource settings.
The event concluded with a clear call to action: advancing climate-resilient health systems demands sustained political commitment, strategic investment in workforce capacity, institutional reform, and cross-sectoral collaboration to protect populations and ensure the long-term resilience of health systems across the MENA region.
For more information about the Certificate in Climate Change and Health, visit https://ghi.aub.edu.lb/GHLAD/shop/certificate-in-climate-change-health/
To learn more about the Cli-Health Program at GHI, visit https://ghi.aub.edu.lb/chp/
The full event video is available at https://youtu.be/yFNmxGDUtYw
About AUB
Founded in 1866, the American University of Beirut bases its educational philosophy, standards, and practices on the American liberal arts model of higher education. A teaching-centered research university, AUB has more than 790 full-time faculty members and a student body of over 9000 students. AUB currently offers more than 140 programs leading to bachelor’s, master’s, MD, and PhD degrees. It provides medical education and training to students from throughout the region at its Medical Center that includes a full-service 365-bed hospital.
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