Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

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Health

Balancing Ideology and Responsibility in Iran’s Battle Against COVID-19
An Iranian man takes a selfie with his vaccination card at a vaccination center in Tehran, Iran September 20, 2021. Majid Asgaripour/WANA/ReutersFig. 1 Health advocates confronting COVID-19 juxtaposed with Iranian soldiers. ISNAFig. 2 “For protecting our health, spend this year’s holiday at home.” Tasnim News Fig. 3 The difference between Islamic-Iranian culture and the materialism of the West. Office of the Supreme LeaderFig. 4 “Cowboy Trump” stealing masks. Office of the Supreme Leader Fig. 5 The winding road of technological achievements. Office of the Supreme Leader Fig. 6 “Heroic Nation.” Khattmedia Telegram channel
Covid-19 Coverage

Balancing Ideology and Responsibility in Iran’s Battle Against COVID-19

Like all governments, Iran’s response to the coronavirus pandemic combines public health measures with ideological messaging. Schwartz and Gölz analyze Iran’s visual iconography and the politics of the state’s early narratives of self-reliance and resistance and why these shifted when vaccines becam
Kevin Schwartz, Olmo Gölz • 11 min read
COVID-19 Exposes Weaknesses in Syria’s Fragmented and War-Torn Health System
Workers sew protective face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at a factory in the rebel-held city of Idlib , Syria, May 11, 2020. Khalil Ashawi/Reuters
MER Article

COVID-19 Exposes Weaknesses in Syria’s Fragmented and War-Torn Health System

The COVID-19 pandemic could not have come at a worse time for Syria. The country’s health care system has already been devastated by nearly ten years of violent conflict, leaving much of the health infrastructure in ruins and health care workers overwhelmed. The health system is not only decimated,
Aula Abbara • 9 min read
Hepatitis C, COVID-19 and the Egyptian Regime’s Approach to Health Care
Doctors conduct a test in the government’s campaign to detect and treat hepatitis C, in Cairo, Egypt. November 2018. Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters
MER Article

Hepatitis C, COVID-19 and the Egyptian Regime’s Approach to Health Care

As social phenomena, epidemics and the responses they generate reveal much about a country’s political economy and a state’s relationship with its citizens. In Egypt, the manner in which President Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi’s regime has approached an epidemic of hepatitis C on the one hand and the arriva
Jennifer Derr • 12 min read
The Evolution of Conflict Medicine in the Middle East - An Interview with Ghassan Abu Sittah
Ghassan Abu Sittah working at Al-Awdah Hospital in Jabalya refugee camp, in the Gaza Strip, May 14, 2018. Photo courtesy of Medical Aid for Palestinians.
MER Article

The Evolution of Conflict Medicine in the Middle East - An Interview with Ghassan Abu Sittah

During his tenure at AUB, Ghassan Abu Sittah’s work radically transformed the practice of medicine and surgery. As the chair of the plastic surgery department at AUB Medical Center, he singlehandedly redefined the workload of the hospital from a focus on cosmetic surgery to one on reconstructive sur
Ghassan Abu Sittah, Omar Dewachi, Nabil Al-Tikriti • 17 min read