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Connecting women and opportunity

Womanthology is a digital magazine and professional community powered by female energy and ingenuity.

Connecting women and opportunity

Womanthology is a digital magazine and professional community powered by female energy and ingenuity.

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Women: The key pillars of humanitarian work – Abeer Shubassi, Director of GCC & MENA Strategy & Partnerships at International Medical Corps

International Medical Corps team

Abeer Shubassi has been Director of Strategy and Partnerships for GCC (The Gulf Cooperation Council Countries) and MENA (Middle East & North Africa) at International Medical Corps in the UAE since March 2014. Over the past 15 years, Abeer gained experience in international development, operational management as well as public-private partnerships in the MENA region, Gulf States, United States, Canada and United Kingdom. Abeer has an M.A. in Theory & Policy Studies in Education and an Honors B.A. in Political Science and Ethics, Law and Society from the University of Toronto and is currently completing her Ph.D. in Education at the University of Toronto.

Abeer Shubassi
Abeer Shubassi

“…I come from a refugee background before my parents immigrated to Canada. I feel a deep connection to humanitarian issues affecting refugees, which compelled me to work to help save lives and to provide those who suffer an opportunity to thrive…” 

Abeer, for us your work epitomises the definition of ‘inspirational’. Please can you share a bit about your career to date with us?

I am the Strategy and Partnerships Director for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region at International Medical Corps in the United Arab Emirates. International Medical Corps is a global humanitarian organisation that works to relieve the suffering of those impacted by war, natural disaster, and disease by delivering vital health care services that focus on training.

Over the past 15 years of my career, I gained experience in international development as well as operational management in the MENA region, Gulf States, United States, Canada and United Kingdom. My roles have been crosscutting in business development, public-private partnerships, fundraising, and budgeting as well as hands-on experience in setting-up local not-for-profit organisations in the MENA region.

I am passionate about the innovation that arises from public-private partnerships with a significant investment in corporate relationships to strengthen sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives as well as organisational and leadership impact. I am currently completing my Ph.D. in education at the University of Toronto. I have an M.A. in Theory & Policy Studies in Education and an Honours B.A. in Political Science and Ethics, Law and Society from the University of Toronto.

What inspired you to get involved in humanitarian work?

I come from a refugee background before my parents immigrated to Canada. I feel a deep connection to humanitarian issues affecting refugees, which compelled me to work to help save lives and to provide those who suffer an opportunity to thrive. Working in Washington, DC and travelling on missions throughout the MENA region strengthened my passion for humanitarian work beyond refugee-specific issues, including health and access to safety and clean water.

I care about humanitarian work because it allows me to give vulnerable people a better and dignified life. That in itself is extremely rewarding. I feel privileged to be a part of International Medical Corps because it offers me this platform. Per our mission, we work tirelessly 24/7 to save lives and to provide those affected by humanitarian disasters critical health and training services.

Please can you tell us more about International Medical Corps, the organisation’s objectives and its other hubs?

Since its founding in 1984, International Medical Corps has delivered $1.8 billion in lifesaving medical care and training to tens of millions of people across more than 70 countries. A preeminent first responder, International Medical Corps has responded to every major humanitarian disaster of the last 30 years.

With a dedicated staff of 5,300 and a network of thousands of volunteers, International Medical Corps works in the world’s most challenging and remote places, including Darfur, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, South Sudan, Libya, and Liberia, among others.

What was it like setting up a new hub in Dubai? What made Dubai in ideal location to service the MENA region?

International-Medical-Corps teamIt could not have come at a better time to set up a new operation in Dubai. We look upon Dubai as a strategic hub that connects the East and the West and our mandate is aligned with the UAE’s vision to transform Dubai into a world-class humanitarian hub for the MENA region, while extending support to Africa and Asia.

We are fully registered as a member of the UAE’s International Humanitarian City (IHC) with an established presence in their premises to serve as a support hub to expand operations across the Middle East, Africa and Asia. As a fully registered member, International Medical Corps UAE will leverage its strong ties in the region to save lives and to strengthen communities in the world’s most devastating crises.

Creating the support hub in Dubai in membership with IHC lays the foundation for creating partnerships with UAE stakeholders to rapidly respond to escalating humanitarian concerns in the region and to deliver humanitarian supplies and services more effectively and efficiently. We will also be able to create a cadre of local first responders in order to build locally owned and a more functional, resilient humanitarian system.

What sort of projects are you overseeing at the moment?

I am currently in discussion for implementing local capacity building training programs with an emphasis on emergency response and health care services with the public and private sectors.

What impact has the Ebola outbreak in West Africa had on your work? What assistance are you and your teams able to provide?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa is the largest, most deadly in history. As of the end of December there have been over 20,000 suspected, probable and confirmed Ebola cases since the outbreak was declared in March. International Medical Corps is currently operating four Ebola Treatment Units (ETUs) in West Africa – two each in Liberia and Sierra Leone – which provide not only isolation and care for Ebola patients but also psychosocial support, which can be a key element in recovery.

We worked closely with WHO, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the responsible government authorities in both affected countries, the US and UK governments, donor agencies and partner organisations on the ETU design to make sure each meets all isolation, care and safety needs. Most of our nearly 900 staff – about 90% – are local health care workers trained in Ebola treatment and prevention.

International Medical Corps is also developing a training programme in Mali to help prepare that country to respond to an Ebola outbreak, and recently deployed and Emergency Response Team to Guinea.

International Medical Corps opened an Ebola management training centre in Liberia in November 2014 and a similar facility just opened in Sierra Leone. We have trained nearly 800 local and international health care and other critical staff – including from NGOs, the UN and other governmental organisations – who are now helping combat this outbreak in West Africa. We are also deploying mobile support teams of trainers to accelerate and expand our training programs. 

Which other organisations do you work with?

International Medical Corps places strong emphasis on collective learning and action and works with a variety of partners, donors and organisations to achieve our humanitarian mission including host government agencies, civil society, private sector and academic institutions.

What advice would you give to women who would like to get involved in humanitarian work? How can they learn more?

Women are the key pillars of humanitarian work. I encourage women to get involved in all aspects of humanitarian work; from senior decision making to fieldwork. I look at our agency with such awe as it is heavily represented by female champions across the board.

What are International Medical Corps most pressing priorities for 2015?

We have three key priorities:

  • Innovation: Implementing innovative partnership models that are sustainable and cross-cutting to the local public, private, civil society and academic sectors
  • Scale: Operational expansion and strengthening the emergency response and health aid preparedness by implementing local capacity building projects that all relevant UAE stakeholders can utilise.
  • Impact: Working with government and the local private sector to strengthen their emergency response and health care policies and systems

 

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