K2P Center’s Program Manager, Clara Abou Samra (@klara_as), participated as a panelist in a #conference discussion on hospital #foodwaste at the Lebanese American University of Beirut (@lebamericanuni), highlighting the importance of addressing food waste as a public health and health systems priority in #Lebanon. Drawing on her expertise in health systems, policy, and hospital accreditation, Clara Abou Samra emphasized three key priorities: 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞: Reducing avoidable hospital food waste goes beyond environmental concerns, contributing to more efficient resource utilization, equitable allocation of limited resources, and improved patient care. 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Embedding food-waste management into hospital accreditation standards, institutional policies, and continuous quality improvement processes can strengthen accountability and improve hospital performance. 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬: Developing national policies, standardized protocols, and measurable indicators is essential to coordinate food-waste prevention and management across Lebanon’s healthcare institutions. The conference was held under the patronage and in the presence of Dr. Weam K. Abou Hamdan, Director General of the @mophleb - Lebanon. It was organized by the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at the LAU School of Arts and Sciences (LAU Nutrition), in collaboration with the Faculty of Public Health at the Lebanese University, and with the endorsement of the Lebanese Order Of Dietitians.

10 October was #WorldMentalHealthDay, a reminder that mental health is health and must be a public health priority. In #Lebanon, the need remains urgent. 110 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞 in the first eight months of 2026, and 13.5% 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 considered suicide at least once. Yet 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 5% 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐩𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭. These figures highlight the importance of making mental health support more accessible and strengthening the place of mental health in Lebanon’s health system. Addressing these challenges requires sustained policy action. In 2013, the Knowledge to Policy (K2P) Center of the American University of Beirut identified mental health as a top policy priority through a priority-setting exercise with the @mophleb - Lebanon. In 2014, K2P published 𝐋𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧’𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟 and convened the country’s 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡. Within six months, stakeholders established a national MHPSS task force, rolled out WHO mhGAP training in 45 primary health care centers, updated the national essential drug list to include psychiatric medications, and integrated mental health indicators into the MOPH Health Information System. 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲. @AUB_Lebanon @FHS_AUB #MentalHealth #PublicHealth #HealthPolicy #EvidenceToPolicy #KnowledgeTranslation #PrimaryHealthCare #SuicidePrevention