To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Global Health Institute (GHI) at the American University of Beirut (AUB), the institute organized the Global Health Change Makers pitch competition.
The event has joined students from various universities in the MENA region to present their project ideas about Global Health and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through a 5-minute pitch and seed funding.
Seven participants from different countries, including Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and others were shortlisted in the final stage and participated in the competition, which was held at AUB.
The event promotes youth with opportunities for the future of health equity. It featured a jury panel of 5 judges, including a member of the Lebanese Parliament, Dr. Najat Saliba; TV host, Jessica Azar; and director at the CIBL, Dr. Lama Moussawi.
The division manager at the Global Health Institute, Nour El Arnaout, and Dr. Rihab Nasr, the director of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at the Naef K. Basile Cancer Institute were part of the jury panel.
Out of 7 students contending, 3 won the competition. Among them is Lebanese Sara El Koussa, from the Lebanese American University (LAU), who won 2nd place for her “Cancer Com” project, with a seed funding of $3,000.
El Koussa was preceded by Zeeshan Zulfiqar from the Gulf Medical University, who won 1st place with a seed funding of $5,000, and followed by Abdurrahman Chikaire Umar, with a seed funding of $2,000.
