Document(s) 3 of 4

Dr. Iman Nuwayhid
Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Coordinator, Community of Practice in Ecohealth—Middle East North Africa Region (CoPEH-MENA)

For members of CoPEH-MENA, attending the International EcoHealth Forum 2008 (IEF 2008) was a turning point in the life of their CoPEH. 

"[The Forum] was a source of new ideas for CoPEH-MENA," said Dr Iman Nuwayhid. "It also provided an ideal platform to network, share knowledge, discuss challenges and prioritize interventions for ecohealth in this region."

In a survey conducted by the Center for Development Services (CDS), a member of CoPEH-MENA, more than 90% of CoPEH-MENA participants reported high satisfaction with the Forum. Members had several objectives to achieve at the Forum, which they feel were met:

• Connect with other CoPEHs.
• Learn more about recent developments in ecohealth.
• Increase CoPEH-MENA’s visibility.

"Not only did we share experiences, but we also learnt about the success stories and challenges elsewhere," said Dr Nuwayhid.

The Forum allowed for cross-pollination among the Ecohealth CoPEHs globally. Dr. Nuwayhid foresees joint research and capacity development collaboration with both CoPES-AOC (Central and West Africa) and CoPEH-TLAC (Toxics in Latin America and the Caribbean).

Participants also said the Forum established a more concrete understanding of the science behind the ecohealth approach. The wide exposure to experts has given ecohealth practitioners in MENA the tools needed to build better scientific, ethical and methodological frameworks for future work. Some specific ideas emerged from CoPEH-MENA’s discussions with the other COPEHs:

• Develop common research ideas and build a central linking structure.
• Share existing documentation among the CoPEHs.
• Plan face-to-face meetings, whenever possible.

The Forum also succeeded in drawing new members to CoPEH-MENA and contacts with regional journalists have been made to help expose CoPEH-MENA’s work to broader audiences.

Nuwayhid said the International Association for Ecology and Health is "well-suited to encourage broad discussion about challenges in ecohealth research."

The Association can support its already active student network by sponsoring fellowships and student exchanges. It can also build reporting capacity in the MENA region, said Dr Nuwayhid, who believes there is a “disconnect between conducting research on the one hand and the ability to report research results to different audiences on the other.”

With the connections made at the Forum, and all the ideas and knowledge gathered there, CoPEH-MENA expects to "harvest all of the investment made so far to protect human health and the environment in the MENA region and by extension, in the world as well."

Community of Practice in Ecohealth—Middle East North Africa Region (CoPEH-MENA)
Faculty of Health Sciences , American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Center for Development Services, Egypt
Community of Practice in Ecohealth West and Central Africa (CoPES-AOC)
Community of Practice in Ecohealth Latin America and the Caribbean (CoPEH-TLAC)
International Association for Ecology and Health

Document(s) 3 of 4