Next Friday, May 31, at 6:00 p.m., Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah, rector of the University of Glasgow, will give a lecture in the Aula Magna of the La Nau Cultural Center. Abu-Sittah has worked as a war surgeon in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
The conference will be presented by Dr. Lola Bañón (journalist). And will include the participation of Dr. Mª Vicenta Mestre, rector of the Universitat de València, and Dr. Nadia Yahlali (CIDEMUV/RUxP).
Conference abstract
«Prolonged and intense conflicts alter the biosphere in which people live. The lived space with all its constituents and the way people interact with it permanently change through a multitude of modalities that act as mediators of ill health. Rather than constituting a temporary “crisis,” conflict creates a “war ecology” that people inhabit and whose health they shape.
Relying on his experiences over the past year at al-Shifa and al-Alhi Baptist hospitals in Gaza, Ghassan Abu-Sittah will show how the Israeli war on Gaza is proving destructive and intense enough to have turned the Gaza Strip into an “ecology of war” that will continue to harm its inhabitants long after this war ends. To imagine a post-war health system that can dismantle this ecology, we need to dissect its components and analyze its various conduits of harm. Only then can we build a holistic health system rather than a medical system».
About Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Palestinian-born British doctor Ghassan Abu-Sittah is Professor of Surgery and a plastic and reconstructive surgeon. He was elected rector of the University of Glasgow last March, where he will hold the position until 2027. His unique background combines the skills and experience of a surgeon with the rigor of academia and the compassion of humanitarianism.
Abu-Sittah has worked as a war surgeon in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, where he has seen more than five wars. On October 9, 2023, he gained access to the Strip, where he spent 43 days at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital and Al-Shifa Hospital treating victims of Israeli shelling. In addition, he covered the latest news about Gaza directly from the hospital wards.
He has published several works on the health consequences of persistent conflict and war injuries. These include the books Reconstructing the War Injured Patient and Treating the War Injured Child, the latter of which is yet to be published.
In addition, Abu-Sittah is an honorary fellow of Imperial College and King's College London and is clinical lead of the Operational Trauma initiative of the World Health Organization's Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean. He also serves on the funding committee of the British National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
The Ghassan Abu-Sittah Children's Fund provides medical care to children most in need in Gaza, helping to alleviate hospital pressure in the Strip.
Organizers: Universitat de València, Red Universitaria por Palestina (RUxP) and Ciencia y Derechos Humanos UV (CIDEMUV)
