Lancet, Birzeit Cooperation Celebrates Four Year Anniversary

Representing the Birzeit University Institute of Community and Public Health (ICPH), public health professor Rita Giacaman participated in the fifth anniversary celebration of the Lancet Palestinian Health Alliance recently held in the United Kingdom.

Lancet Journal editor-in-chief Richard Horton published an article explaining the importance of research on issues of public health in Palestine and stating he values the role played by ICPH, coordinating a large number of research papers on health by Palestinian and international researchers. These research papers were published in the Lancet Journal in 2009, while the Lancet Palestinian Health Alliance has planned annual scientific conferences and published research abstracts. In 2010, Lancet published 17 research abstracts; in 2011, 13 research abstracts; in 2012, 32 abstracts. This past year, 36 abstracts were published by Palestinian research groups across the occupied territory and in the Diaspora.

“Observation, measurement, and interpretation of research has generated actionable new knowledge for people living in settings of occupation, displacement, and siege,” wrote Horton. “It is necessary to constantly question, refine, and even redefine the meanings of health, suffering, and wellbeing—concepts whose content changes in situations of violence and oppression. Reliable new information can assist those responsible for planning the health needs of the Palestinian people."

The Lancet Palestinian Health Alliance is a network of Palestinians, regional and international health researchers committed to the highest scientific standards to describe, analyze and evaluate health and health care for Palestinians. It aims to expand international and local scientific writing in order to develop policies on the health conditions of the Palestinians.