Over the past recent years, the excessive use of e-cigarettes among university students globally, and specifically in the MENA region, has become among the most alarming public health issues. In December 2018, the US Surgeon General referred to the utilization of e-cigarettes among youths as an “epidemic”, calling for an immediate action to be taken […]

In 2025, it is anticipated that Colorectal Cancer (CRC) incidence in Lebanon will witness an increase to 28.8 and 26.1 per 100,000 for males and females, respectively. This is a notable rise from the 2016 rates of 23.2 and 20.2 per 100,000 (1). Lebanon ranks the second among the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) […]

Cervical cancer, a deadly yet treatable cancer? Each year, more than 300,000 women die from cervical cancer with 80% of these deaths occurring in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (1). This year, cervical cancer awareness month is launched under three key messages by the World Health Organization (WHO) that are “Get informed”, “Get screened” and “Get […]

Zahra, the eldest of her siblings, was 13 when her grandfather suffered a heart attack. He was a mechanic and the owner of a small repair shop in one of Cairo’s crowded slums. Zahra was smart and talkative, and she said she hated hospitals and wanted to be a lawyer. The doctors at the nearby […]

Mental health disorders, primarily depression, are among the leading causes of the global health burden of disease (1). Depression is characterized as a condition where a person feels discouraged, sad, unmotivated, or hopeless for over two weeks and this interferes with their daily activities, behavior, functions, and thoughts. In recent events, the emergence of the […]

A call to stand with mothers surviving postpartum psychiatric disorders in the Arab World Mothers all over the world are vulnerable to mental health difficulties, particularly with the transition in their role following childbirth. Personal determinants, such as previous pregnancy loss or a history of mental illness, as well as interpersonal and cultural determinants such as […]

Countless efforts have been put in the last few years to address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and the agenda 2030 in the Middle East and North Africa. Among the key issues focused on was gender inequality in the region, which is mainly evident in terms of women and girls’ access to […]

“I take twelve medicines. Medicine for my heart, medicine for blood pressure, and medicine for my diabetes. I searched through all the pharmacies in the city and either they don’t have it, or the price is too high for me to afford.” I sat with Talib on his porch on a scorching hot day in […]

Background The spread of viral diseases causing respiratory illnesses continues to undermine the welfare of populations and poses a heavy threat to public health. A pneumonia outbreak, triggered by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was reported in China in December 2019 causing the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) [1,2]. This highly contagious virus initially […]