@UTMBHealth MS4 @HarvardPGSSC ‘25-‘26 Research Fellow @TMCGlobalHealth BOD Member #Match2027 🇺🇸🇵🇰
Houston, TX
Joined January 2024
- Tweets48
- Following519
- Followers203
- Likes1.4K
Hello #MedTwitter and #SurgTwitter! 👋🏼
I’m Abbas, an MS4 at the @UTMB_JSSOM and fmr. research fellow at the @HarvardPGSSC applying to #GeneralSurgery in the #Match2027!
I’m interested in thoracic + vascular surgery, global surgery, and outcomes research. Excited to connect! 🩺
Incredible first #WHA79 in Geneva! 🇺🇳
Filled w/ many highlights, including advocating for innovative financing for surgical care in the EMRO region, contributing to ECO care discussions, attending events on TBI, acute care, and migrant health, & more with the @HarvardPGSSC team! – at Geneva, Switzerland
Abbas Karim retweeted
This was a great event. Proud of the intervention from @HarvardPGSSC @_abbaskarim
At #WHA79, I was pleased to join a timely and forward-looking discussion on health care financing for universal health coverage #UHC. I would like to thank Burkina Faso, Jordan, Syrian Arab Republic and Türkiye and the @OIC_OCI for bringing together partners to tackle one of the defining health challenges of our time.
At a moment of growing financial pressure on health systems, these conversations are more important than ever to help identify sustainable, locally driven solutions that protect access to care and strengthen resilience for the future. Traditional and innovative financing mechanisms, including Awqaf, Zakat, Sukuk and partnerships with development banks and the private sector, can help complement public financing and accelerate progress towards #UHC.
The priority now is moving from discussion to implementation: strengthening governance, building evidence, aligning these mechanisms with national health financing strategies, and advancing practical country-level action that delivers equitable impact for communities across the @WHOEMRO Region and beyond.
@WHOJordan | @mohgovjordan | @JordanUNGeneva | @WHOSyria | @syrianmofaex | @SyriatoUN | @SyrMOfH | @TC_BMCenevreDT | @WHO_Turkiye | @WHOAFRO | @WHO_Europe
Abbas Karim retweeted
At #WHA79, I was pleased to join a timely and forward-looking discussion on health care financing for universal health coverage #UHC. I would like to thank Burkina Faso, Jordan, Syrian Arab Republic and Türkiye and the @OIC_OCI for bringing together partners to tackle one of the defining health challenges of our time.
At a moment of growing financial pressure on health systems, these conversations are more important than ever to help identify sustainable, locally driven solutions that protect access to care and strengthen resilience for the future. Traditional and innovative financing mechanisms, including Awqaf, Zakat, Sukuk and partnerships with development banks and the private sector, can help complement public financing and accelerate progress towards #UHC.
The priority now is moving from discussion to implementation: strengthening governance, building evidence, aligning these mechanisms with national health financing strategies, and advancing practical country-level action that delivers equitable impact for communities across the @WHOEMRO Region and beyond.
@WHOJordan | @mohgovjordan | @JordanUNGeneva | @WHOSyria | @syrianmofaex | @SyriatoUN | @SyrMOfH | @TC_BMCenevreDT | @WHO_Turkiye | @WHOAFRO | @WHO_Europe
Abbas Karim retweeted
Meeting global #surgical needs is essential but even more critical in the @WHOEMRO region. Grateful to be working with @HananBalkhy and her team in following areas.
1. Special issue on surgical care delivery #EMHJ
2. Financing for surgical conditions
3. #TBI resolution at #WHA.
Ahead of #WHA79, I was delighted to meet Prof. John Meara @JohnMeara, Professor of Surgery and Director of the Program in Global Surgery and Social Change @HarvardPGSSC at Harvard Medical School @harvardmed; Dr Kee Park @keepark, Director of Policy and Advocacy, Program in Global Surgery and Social Change, Harvard Medical School; and Dr Tariq Khan @TariqNeurosurg, Professor and Head of Neurosurgery, Northwest School of Medicine @nwsmedu, Pakistan.
Our discussion highlighted the value of strong collaboration in advancing surgical, trauma and emergency care across the Eastern Mediterranean Region, including through @WHOEMRO’s Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal.
We also explored closer collaboration between @TheLancet Commission on Global Surgery and our Regional Trauma Initiative to help elevate action on trauma and traumatic brain injury, a critical yet too often neglected challenge in conflict-affected settings.
#Partners4Health
Abbas Karim retweeted
Ahead of #WHA79, I was delighted to meet Prof. John Meara @JohnMeara, Professor of Surgery and Director of the Program in Global Surgery and Social Change @HarvardPGSSC at Harvard Medical School @harvardmed; Dr Kee Park @keepark, Director of Policy and Advocacy, Program in Global Surgery and Social Change, Harvard Medical School; and Dr Tariq Khan @TariqNeurosurg, Professor and Head of Neurosurgery, Northwest School of Medicine @nwsmedu, Pakistan.
Our discussion highlighted the value of strong collaboration in advancing surgical, trauma and emergency care across the Eastern Mediterranean Region, including through @WHOEMRO’s Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal.
We also explored closer collaboration between @TheLancet Commission on Global Surgery and our Regional Trauma Initiative to help elevate action on trauma and traumatic brain injury, a critical yet too often neglected challenge in conflict-affected settings.
#Partners4Health
What a week at #ISW2026Mexico! 🌍 Presenting with brilliant @HarvardPGSSC teammates, connecting with our incredible global partners, and feeling both deeply humbled and grateful to receive Best Presentation in SurgEd/AI/Robotics 🏆🎉
Abbas Karim retweeted
Surgical care is not a luxury; it’s a lifeline. In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, too many people still lack access to safe, timely surgical care when it matters most.
I invite researchers, policymakers and practitioners to contribute to a special issue of the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal which will focus on “Surgical Care Delivery: Global Innovation, Priorities and Financing” by @WHOEMRO and @HarvardPGSSC.
Let’s bring forward bold ideas, evidence and solutions to strengthen surgical systems and save lives.
📝 Submit by 30 November 2026
🔗 www2.cloud.editorialmanager.…
📢 Call for Papers: Surgical Care Delivery - Global Innovation, Priorities and Financing
Surgical care is central to resilient health systems, and in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, the need has never been greater.
The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, in collaboration with Harvard Medical School’s Program in Global Surgery and Social Change, invites submissions for a special issue of the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal (EMHJ).
This issue aims to spotlight high-impact, policy-relevant research that addresses challenges, showcases innovations, and advances multisectoral solutions to improve surgical care across the region and globally.
📝 We welcome submissions including:
• Original research
• Reviews & reports
• Policy briefs
• Commentaries & letters
• Short research communications
📌 Priority areas include:
• Surgical care delivery and access (including palliative care)
• Financing and health economics of surgical services
• Surgical care in migration and displacement settings
• Climate change and surgical systems
• Disaster and conflict-related surgical care (e.g. trauma, neurotrauma)
• Surgical care policy & national planning
• Surgical oncology (especially breast & cervical cancer)
⚠️ Submissions should focus on public health and system-level insights (not clinical studies).
📅 Deadline: 30 November 2026
📖 Expected publication: April 2027
🔗 Submit your manuscript: www2.cloud.editorialmanager.…
📄 Author guidelines: emro.who.int/emh-journal/aut…
📩 For inquiries: [email protected]
📌 Be sure to indicate your submission is for the special issue on Surgical Care Delivery: Global Innovation, Priorities and Financing.
@HarvardPGSSC
Abbas Karim retweeted
We’re excited to announce a Call for Papers for a special issue “Surgical Care Delivery: Global Innovation, Priorities, and Financing” in partnership with the EMHJ of the @WHOEMRO
Submit:www2.cloud.editorialmanager.….
Guidelines:emro.who.int/emh-journal/aut…
Inquiries: [email protected]
A truly memorable time presenting at #ASC2026 last week! 🤩
We found that among the top TikToks globally, stigmatizing stoma care content ➡️ significantly higher engagement, regardless of quality! 📊📲
Thankful for the mentorship and team behind this work in #globalsurgery!🌏
Abbas Karim retweeted
Surgical backlogs are growing worldwide — not from lack of skill, but system inefficiency.
Join +One’s Masterclass Series kicking off Feb 17 (10:30–11:00 EST) with Prof. Nobhojit Roy!
🔗 tinyurl.com/onemoresurgery
🌍 onemoresurgery.org
#GlobalSurgery #PlannedEssentialSurgery
Abbas Karim retweeted
TikTok meets surgery!📱
At ASC, our fellow @_abbaskarim ’s presentation examined stoma content on tiktok, finding that stigma spreads faster than support, and education still lacks real-life guidance.
Digital platforms can harm… or heal.
Let’s choose better.
#globalsurgery
Abbas Karim retweeted
We’re proud to see our current and past fellows participating in the ongoing 21st Annual Academic Surgical Congress in Florida.
Stay tuned to see how their voices are shaping the future of global surgery.👌🏾
Abbas Karim retweeted
1/2
This week, @keepark and @abbaskarim. in Phnom Penh, representing PGSSC at the the final consultative meeting for Cambodia's National Policy and Strategy for Surgery, Obstetrics, and Anesthesia, 2026 to 2034.
Abbas Karim retweeted
Fellowship within the fellowship! Outdoor bonding moments like this remind our fellows what fellowship truly means; showing up for each other even on the hard trails of the epic Acadia National Park. Because the work we do in global surgery requires both skill & team spirit.
Abbas Karim retweeted
📍Abbas Karim, MD Student (Our Research Collaborator)📍
Abbas is a 4th-year MD student at UTMB in Galveston, TX, completing a Scholarly Concentration in Global Health. He earned his bachelor’s from the University of Houston and served in the Medical Reserve Corps during COVID-19
Abbas Karim retweeted
Abbas sits on the Board of the Houston Global Health Collaborative and leads campus groups focused on surgery and global health. His research centers on surgical outcomes, trauma systems, and burn care in global surgery, with a focus on the Middle East and South Asia.
Honored to have presented for the second year in a row at the @AmCollSurgeons Clinical Congress! #ACSCC25 📊
Always a privilege to share our team’s work and connect with + learn from inspiring colleagues across the #HouseofSurgery, especially those in #globalsurgery 🌍 🤝🏼
Do gamified features — like a buzzer 🚨 — actually help surgical trainees learn? 🎮📝
We tested this using the classic Operation game and a box trainer — read more below!
🔗: authors.elsevier.com/a/1lj01…
Huge thanks for the mentorship + support of @Joshua_Roshal and @utmblstar! 🙌🏼
Very proud to share our multinational team’s deep dive into trauma systems across the GCC!
🇧🇭🇰🇼🇴🇲🇶🇦🇸🇦🇦🇪
We found:
🚑 Strong, centralized EMS
🏥 Gaps in formal trauma centers
⚠️ Lack of national trauma registries
Read more!
🔗: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/shar…
@LubnaKh_ @WorldJSurg