Cholera has been a global public health problem that resulted in seven pandemics since 1961. Lebanon is a small country in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) with an estimated population of 6.7 million and the highest number of refugees per capita per square meter in the world. The first cholera case was reported in North Lebanon on Oct. 4, 2022, in an informal settlement followed by spread across the country; this is the first cholera outbreak in the country since 1993. Despite the confinement of cases in North Lebanon early during the pandemic, the economic crisis in Lebanon and the weakened health care infrastructure—exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic—played a significant role in the emergence of the cholera outbreak. This talk advances the understanding of evolution of the cholera spread in Lebanon since the reporting of the first case as well as the structural challenges leading to the spread of the disease.
This event is part of the International Programs Major Project, Building Multidisciplinary Global Health Collaborations: Connecting Ideas, Values, and People, and centers around a weeklong visit by Dr. Nada Melhem, professor of infectious diseases and microbiology in the Division of Health Professions, Medical Laboratory Sciences, at the American University of Beirut.
Go here for the full schedule of events.
The visit is hosted by the Iowa Global Health Network with support from UI International Programs, in collaboration with the UI College of Public Health, FilmScene, Iowa City Foreign Relations Council, and the UI Carver College of Medicine.
Through the generous support of the Stanley-UI Foundation Support Organization, International Programs' Major Projects Award promotes important contributions to scholarly debates and exchanges on international topics, issues, discoveries, and arts.
