On April 3, 2024, global health experts gathered in a panel discussion to exchange their experiences in implementing capacity building initiatives in fragile contexts with a focus on the MENA region. The panel discussion was held as part of an event organized by the American University of Beirut’s Global Health Institute (AUB-GHI) titled The Landscape of Capacity Building in Global Health: Perspectives on Global South Challenges and Potential Contribution.

Led by GHI’s Founding Director Professor Shadi Saleh, the event’s sessions featured speakers from the World Health Organization-Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (WHO-EMRO) and the American University of Beirut, among other entities. Participants engaged in a dialogue on how to best utilize innovative and contextualized capacity building initiatives to combat major global health challenges.

Sitting on a panel discussion titled Insights and Lessons Learned on Capacity Building the MENA Region, EMPHNET’s Executive Director Dr. Mohannad Al Nsour shared lessons from the organization’s experiences designing and implementing capacity building programs and initiatives in the diverse context of the Eastern Mediterranean Region. He cited Field Epidemiology Training Programs (FETPs) as a recognized best practice in capacity building owing to their contribution to increasing the number of qualified public health workers trained in outbreak investigation and response. Dr. Al Nsour also cited the Public Health Empowerment Program’s (PHEP) success in offering training customized to the needs of specific areas such as Immunization, Nutrition, and WASH.

In the EMR, 15 countries have established their national FETPs. To date, approximately 3,000 residents and graduates have completed the basic, intermediate, and advanced levels of the program. Being embedded within ministries of health, National Public Health Institutes, and other public health agencies, those programs have been deeply involved in the timely detection and response to disease outbreaks and supporting the surveillance system in their respective countries. - Dr. Al Nsour speaking on the significance of FETPs to capacity building

Dr. Al Nsour also underscored the critical importance of technology as a cost-effective, practical tactic that can ensure equitable access to knowledge for all those in need, especially in conflict-ridden settings. He shared some examples from the ground involving the customization of face-to-face training to online and blended modalities through the EMPHNET Learning Management System (LMS) and the increasing knowledge available through the EMPHNET Electronic Library (EEL).

In his concluding remarks, Dr. Al Nsour called for an increased investment in the building of health workforce capacities towards reaching SDG targets and Universal Health Coverage, within the context of regional and global multi-sectoral partnerships. He also called for the adoption of policies that ensure health workforce retention and motivation and for the transition into flexible innovative public health education.