Voices from Gaza: A Physician’s Perspective

Dr. Thaer Ahmad will share his recent experiences delivering emergency medical care on the frontlines in Gaza and Lebanon, where healthcare infrastructure and personnel have come under direct attack since October 2023. The discussion will explore the challenges and ethical considerations of providing emergency care in war zones as well as the resilience and strategies employed to support local healthcare capacity both in Gaza and Lebanon. As a board member of MedGlobal, Dr. Ahmad will also discuss how global health initiatives can play a critical role in addressing health inequities in conflict-affected areas.

Dr. Sean Kivlehan, Director of the Emergency Health Systems program at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative will moderate the event.

About the Speaker

Thaer Ahmad, MD is a board-certified emergency medicine physician working at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Chicago. Dr. Ahmad is the assistant program director for the emergency medicine residency program. He serves as both the global health director and medical ethics director for the emergency department at Advocate Christ. Dr. Ahmad is also a clinical assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a board member for MedGlobal, a medical humanitarian NGO that works on reducing health inequities globally. He has served in Gaza at Nasser and Al-Aqsa Hospital, as well as in Lebanon during the ongoing conflict. Prior, Dr. Ahmad has spent time in Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Kenya, and Greece working on local healthcare capacity building projects.

This event is open to Harvard University ID holders. Register here.