Despite early and (then) effective measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic, today the occupied Palestinian territory is witnessing one of the most rapid increases in covid-19 cases globally.  This spike comes at a time of a convergence of structural weaknesses in public institutions, a weakened Palestinian Authority, ongoing siege, occupation, and colonial expansion. Where Arundhati Roy famously stated that "the pandemic is a portal," one of our interlocutors aptly pointed out that when it came to covid-19, "the end of the tunnel is dark." The convergence and interactions between these factors have, however, brought to light the challenges and complexities of responding to a pandemic under occupation. Professor Weeam Hammoudeh (Assistant Professor, Institute of Community and Public Health, Birzeit University) will focus on the implications of the response to the pandemic in the occupied Palestinian territory, and their impacts on the lives of people and communities.

Weeam Hammoudeh is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Community and Public Health, where she teaches in the MPH program and is also the coordinator for the mental health unit. She holds a PhD and MA in Sociology from Brown University, and an MPH from Birzeit University. She has an academic interest in understanding how political and social transformations impact health, psychosocial wellbeing, and population processes, particularly in conflict areas, as well as how health systems and social institutions develop and shift in relation to political, economic, and structural factors. She is currently involved in research project on a range of topics, including the health of adolescent refugee girls, deprivation and mental health, uncertainty, and health system preparedness in the COVID response.

Tuesday, October 27, 2020 | 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Mountain Time | Webinar