Beirut Symposium 2014
2ND RESCAP-MED SYMPOSIUM ON SOCIO-POLITICAL CHALLENGES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION:
IMPLICATIONS FOR NCD PREVENTION AND CONTROL
DECEMBER 2014, BEIRUT, LEBANON
Beirut Symposium agenda & timetable
The Arab Region displays the highest worldwide levels on some key indicators of NCD burden and is projected to witness the second largest proportional increase in NCD mortality worldwide. Six of the countries with the highest rates of diabetes are in the region; obesity rates, notably among women, exceed those recorded in the developed world; levels of physical activity are among the lowest; and an epidemic of water pipe smoking is emerging as a serious public health concern. These developments are taking place against a background of political upheaval and profound transformation, unanticipated even a few years ago. The ferment of the current political turmoil in the region has given way to waves of socio-political changes in many countries, the effects of which on health and health systems have yet to be studied and documented.
This Symposium brought together researchers and public health actors to present, document and debate prospects for action in NCD surveillance, management, control and prevention, within the context of recent geo-political developments in the region.
Keynote Speakers were:
Habiba Ben Romdhane
Professor and Director of the Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology & Prevention Research Department, University of Tunis, Tunisia
Dawn Chatty
Professor of Anthropology and Forced Migration, Director of Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford University, UK
Rita Giacaman
Professor of Public Health, Institute of Community & Public Health, Birzeit University, West Bank, occupied Palestinian territory
Nigel Unwin
Professor of Public Health and Epidemiology, University of the West Indies, Barbados
