Attiya Ahmad

Speakers: Amb. Wendy Chamberlin, MEI President
Amb. Gene Cretz, US Ambassador to Libya
Mark Ward, Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Bureau of Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, USAID
Travis Gartner, Director of Community Stabilization, IRD

Health for All — First Principles to Action

The International Conference on Primary Health Care was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 1978. Nearly all of the members of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) were in attendance. The conference culminated in the issuing of the Almaty Declaration — a major landmark in the field of public health.

Originally posted September, 2011

For nearly eight years — since May 2004 — the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has partnered with the Iraqi Ministry of Health to help Iraq re-establish its behavioral health service system. HHS and SAMHSA have learned much from this effort about improving behavioral health services in the US, particularly for Muslim populations and for persons experiencing extended trauma.

The basic legitimization of political authority and the specific logics of domination that have for decades regulated Arabs’ behavior and subjugated their life patterns are under siege in much of the Arab world. Only those regimes that still enjoy the historical prestige of traditional authority have so far managed to weather the assaults on the legitimacy of their rule.

Originally posted September, 2011

Governments in the Middle East and North Africa have long relied on repression to intimidate, harass, and punish political opponents. During the Arab uprisings, dictators under threat have all ordered and used violence against peaceful protestors as a way to maintain power. But this repression has had widely divergent effects on the course of the different conflicts.

Focus

Through the collaboration between Iraq and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), US providers have learned a great deal about improving behavioral health services, including trauma services, from their Iraqi colleagues since 2004.[1] Two of the many implications for US behavioral health services resulting from this partnership are directly relevant to shaping services for both returning veterans, and refugees and immigrants from the Middle East:

Drug and alcohol problems know no borders. Annually, the United Nations World Drug Report documents that heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, alcohol, and prescription drugs negatively impact public health, public safety, and social institutions in countries around the world.[1] In many parts of the Middle East, there is limited data on the nature and extent of alcohol and drug problems.

The Male Infertility Problem[1]

The Syrian government under both Hafiz and Bashar al-Asad has long pursued a strategy of intimidation and violence against political dissidents, while imposing legal and security structures that inhibit the growth of civil society. The resulting profound vacuum of civil society has made organizing for political change, both inside and outside of Syria, extremely difficult. Furthermore, this overall strategy of intimidation has led to “brain drain” as large numbers of highly educated Syrians flee to other countries.

This Commentary was first published as an op-ed in the Washington Post on August 22, 2011

A relatively successful transition from the Gaddafi regime to a united, stable, more open and democratic Libya would be seen in the region, and more widely, as a credit to the NATO-led intervention. It would enable Libya to resume its oil and gas exports, demonstrate international community capacity to manage such transitions and encourage positive outcomes to other Arab Spring protests.

The Middle East Institute is proud to host a discussion with Trita Parsi and Michael Singh on the prospects for a diplomatic solution to the Iran nuclear crisis in the wake of recently imposed UN and US sanctions.

Their discussion will draw upon a forthcoming Middle East Journal article entitled "The Case Against the Case Against Iran" written pseudonymously by a European diplomat, who argues for greater engagement by regional actors like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Russia and China to mediate and mitigate Iran's nuclear ambitions.

The Middle East Institute (MEI) and International Relief and Development will jointly host a discussion on the reconstruction of Libya following the fall of the Qaddhafi regime and the humanitarian dimensions of the rebuilding efforts. As the rebels root out the last of Qaddhafi royalists and regime strongholds, the question of Libya's future looms large.