Healthcare workers receive the Abu Sittah-Gilbert Humanitarian Award for their humanitarian work in conflict zones

The second edition of the Abu Sittah-Gilbert Humanitarian Award honored healthcare professionals in 2026 who have taken personal risks to care for communities affected by wars and humanitarian crises. The award, established in 2024 and inspired by the work of doctors Ghassan Abu-Sittah and Mads Gilbert, seeks to highlight the commitment of healthcare workers to human life and dignity in conflict settings, regardless of region. The Abu Sittah-Gilbert Humanitarian Award is hosted by the Palestine Land Studies Center at the American University of Beirut (AUB).

The top honoree was Dr. Tania Haj Hassan, a pediatrician specializing in intensive care who has worked in Gaza, Sudan, and other crisis zones. She is a co-founder of Gaza Medic Voices, a platform that shares the testimonies of healthcare workers in Gaza. Upon receiving the award, Haj Hassan dedicated the honor to her fellow health workers in Gaza and highlighted the conditions under which they continue to care for patients despite losses, displacement, and a lack of resources. “Medicine, in its most fundamental form, is the refusal to abandon another human being in their suffering,” she stated.

The ceremony also honored Dr. Aziz Rhali and Dr. Evelyn Hetti

Dr. Aziz Rhali, global coordinator of the People’s Health Movement (PHM), received an award for his humanitarian work and his role in organizing the international Sumud flotilla. In his remarks, Rhali declined to accept the award as an exclusively individual honor: “This recognition is not for me, but for hundreds of activists who work day and night.” He also dedicated his remarks to people who, as he explained, remain detained in Tunisia for their participation in solidarity initiatives with Palestine, and called for continued attention to those who continue to carry out humanitarian work.

Dr. Evelyn Hetti, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the American University of Beirut Medical Center, was honored for her leadership in hospital preparedness and response to crises, including the massive pager explosion in Beirut a year ago.

Another highlight was the tribute to Dr. Ang Swee Chai, a Singaporean-born orthopedic surgeon and traumatologist based in the United Kingdom, recognized for her humanitarian work in conflict zones. Swee Chai recounted her experience during the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon and her work in hospitals treating victims of the violence.

AUB President Fadlo Khuri subsequently highlighted this aspect and noted that children’s health also depends on factors such as nutrition, water, housing, family, education, and safety.

The ceremony concluded with a call from AUB to preserve the memory of those who work in conflict zones and to understand healthcare as an expression of service, dignity, and human responsibility.

Artificial intelligence tools were used to generate portions of this text and to translate it.