SAMS Advocacy in the annual report, please review and suggest

[Zaher Sahloul]

 Dear Advocacy members

Followed is the Advocacy report that is drafted for the annual report. I took time to compile it. It is not all-inclusive. Please review and let me know if you want to add, modify, change, or add good pictures. Please include pictures representing you in action doing advocacy with caption (description of the picture)

MAIN HEADING: EEEFCTIVE & FOCUSED HUMANITARIAN ADVOCACY

 

In addition to its remarkable and heroic work on the ground, SAMS has been one of the leading Syrian American organizations in Advocacy at the local, national and global levels.
SAMS advocacy and media teams made sure that the cry of a child struggling to breathe following a nerve gas attack, the plea of a nurse taking care of yet another innocent victim of indiscriminate bombing and the tears of a local Syrian doctor inspecting the destruction of his hospital by a guided missile attack reach policy makers, think tanks, the media and the public.
As one of the officials of the State Department put it “When SAMS speaks, people listen".
Periodic meetings with policy makers at the USAID, State Department, Treasury Department, Commerce Department, Homeland Security Department, UN delegation, Congressional leaders and National Security Staff.
From the beginning of the crisis, SAMS leaders have been briefing policy makers and governmental agencies at different levels about the deteriorating humanitarian and medical situation in Syria.
SAMS have been advocating for increasing humanitarian aid, protection of healthcare professionals and facilities, reaching inaccessible areas in Syria and trapped civilians by all means including cross-border and cross-line relief, increasing funding to tackle emerging diseases like Polio, supporting victims of bombing and chemical weapons attacks, easing the healthcare situation of Syrian refugees in host countries especially Lebanon and Jordan, easing the administrative restriction on sending medications, medical consumables and equipment, allowing Syrian doctors to treat Syrian refugees in host countries, increasing funding for Syrian refugees, treating wounded Syrians with dignity in host countries, renewing Temporary Protection Status for Syrians in the US and lately expediting resettlement program for Syrian refugees in the US.
Through its network of Syrian American healthcare professionals in many states and its active Advocacy team in DC, SAMS message has been heard loud and impacted the US humanitarian policies towards Syria throughout the crisis.

Meeting with President Obama and Secretary Kerry
SAMS president met with President Barak Obama during an invitation to Iftar event on August, 2013, handed him a letter on behalf of SAMS members describing the current humanitarian situation and advocating for more proactive humanitarian policies. He described the historic scale of the crisis, the moral imperative for taking a leadership role in ending the massacres of civilians and pleaded to the President not to forget the helpless children, women, doctors and nurses. President Obama promised to respond to the letter and appeal. SAMS organized a letter-writing campaign to President Obama asking him to approve sensible policies directed to end the conflict in Syria and protect civilians, healthcare professionals and facilities. SAMS president met also with Secretary Jon Kerry and delivered similar letter.

Periodic meetings with UN agencies and states delegations
SAMS Advocacy team has been meeting periodically with different UN agencies, member states and leaders in order to expand its advocacy to the global level, apply pressure on the International community to end the crisis in Syria, facilitate effective humanitarian assistance to all populations in Syria, protect Syrian healthcare professional and document attacks on healthcare, assure better services to Syrian refugees in key host countries and influence the UN resolutions and reports on Syria. Followed are some of the activities within the UN:

1.  SAMS advocacy team met with permanent and nonpermanent members of the UNSC and briefed UN delegations about the medical and humanitarian situation in Syria
2. Attending coordination event organized by Norwegian UN delegation for the “Member States of High level Group on Syria” and the Peace and Reconciliation department at Columbia University and attended by 20 UN member states and directors of IRC, HRW and UNOCHA.
3. Meeting with US delegation to the UN including Ambassador Samantha Power to brief them on the humanitarian and medical situation in Aleppo. Ambassador Power taped a recorded video message during SAMS national conference thanking SAMS members for their heroic work and explaining the current UN policies.
4. Attending UN delegations conference on Syria response plan in Geneva, Switzerland
5. Meeting with UN Envoy to Syria, Mr. Lakhdar Ibrahimi to brief him on the humanitarian situation in Syria
6. Participation in two conferences of UNESCWA, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, to draft 10 years vision for Syria after the end of the crisis. SAMS was the only Diaspora NGOs participating actively in the conferences held in Beirut, Lebanon
7. Meeting with the UN Assistant General for UN Agency for Children in the Armed Conflict to document attacks on healthcare facilities in Syria
8. Attending UN Foundations events on Syria and South Sudan
9. Meetings with WHO director, Dr Brehnan, UNOCHA Director, John Jing and UNOCHA regional offices directors in Turkey and Jordan to coordinate medical relief.
10. Briefing UN delegations on Barrel Bombing impact on civilians in Aleppo organized by the Dutch UN Delegation.

Periodic briefings to USAID

SAMS leadership team has been meeting periodically with USAID Office of Disaster Assistance leadership and Syria desk to update them about the changes in the medical and humanitarian situation in Syria and coordinating relief.

Briefing the congress and sending statements for the record

 

Meetings: SAMS members and leaders, communicated and met regularly with Senate and congress leaders and staffers to update them about the humanitarian

Caption: SAMS officials are meeting with Congressman Ed Royce, the chairman of foreign relations committee in the US House of Representatives

 

Briefings: SAMS members and leaders SAMS participated in several congressional briefings about the Syrian crisis focusing on the humanitarian and medical situation. DC office staff attended Senate and Congressional briefings about the Syrian crisis.

 

Statements for the record: SAMS send statements for the records about the Syrian refugee crisis and refugees’ resettlements to hearing organized by Senator Dick Durbin,

Bills: SAMS members advocated for Senate Bill and House Bill about the Humanitarian policies for Syria

 

Advocacy Days: SAMS organized Advocacy day for its member coinciding with the third anniversary for the Syrian crisis and in coordination with #WithSyria campaign of many other international NGOs. Members met with their representatives and Senators and advocated for more sensible policies towards Syria

 

Briefing think tanks and foundations
SAMS leaders and staffers participated in many panel discussions and workshops on the Syrian crisis organized by leading think tanks on Global health, health security, humanitarian relief, refugees resettlement, protection of healthcare in areas of conflicts and UN response.  SAMS joined Médecins Sans Frontières, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the U.S. Department of State for a roundtable discussion on the targeting of medical personnel and facilities in Syria at one of the world’s most influential think tanks, the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC.


CAPTION: Dr. Zaher Sahloul, SAMS President participated in the roundtable at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Partnership and Coordination with International Relief Organizations

SAMS coordinated effectively with several leading international relief organizations about finding creative solution to deliver medical relief to inaccessible areas in Syria, improving access, addressing patients with chronic diseases and Dialysis, advocacy, cross-border relief, disaster training of Syrian healthcare professionals and many other issues related to the crisis. Partner organizations included International Committee for Red Cross and Red Crescent, International Rescue Committee, International Medical Corps, Americare, Relief International, International Crisis Group, MDM, Handicap International, Save the Children, MercyCorp and others.

 

Presentations to the general public, civic, medical and faith groups

Many SAMS members presented their findings, stories, pictures and perspectives about the Syrian humanitarian crisis to events organized in their local areas, hospitals, civic groups, faith groups and the general public. Most events included awareness and fundraising events for Syria.

 

Publishing Key Policy Reports
SAMS Issued several influential reports on the impact of the crisis in Syria on healthcare professionals, healthcare in general and Syrian refugees.

SAMS also sent detailed and focused reports to Human Rights Committee of the Institute of Science, National Security Council, USAID, State Department and UN agencies.

In June of 2013 and coinciding with its annual international conference in Amman, Jordan, SAMS released a landmark report titled "Risking Lives to Save Lives, the Ordeal of Syrian Healthcare Professionals". The report focused on the challenges faced by medical personnel and the attacks health facilities in Syria. It highlights firsthand, never before heard testimonies of Syrian physicians and medical personnel who completed medical missions inside Syria over the last two years.
It shows the extent of the medical disaster and the collapse of the health care system inside Syria, and the physicians’ resilience despite shortages of critical medical supplies and the overwhelming scale of medical needs caused by the conflict. Key findings of the report are:

• Medical Neutrality is not respected in Syria and is violated frequently throughout the crisis
• Syria’s healthcare system has been disintegrated by the conflict, due to targeting of medical personnel and facilities and fleeing of Syrian healthcare professionals.
• Syria’s humanitarian catastrophe is escalating, surpassing the international community’s ability to respond
• Many Syrians in need cannot be reached by aid agencies
• Doctors and medical personnel in Syria put their lives in constant danger when providing medical services
• There is widespread misuse of hospitals and medical facilities inside Syria. Human rights groups have documented instances of torturing, interrogating, humiliating and executing patients inside hospitals and using hospitals to find and punish people with conflict-linked injuries
• There are very limited resources to support the psychological wellbeing of physicians working in facilities inside Syria and physicians are not equipped to deal with the psychological problems of trauma patients
• Syrian healthcare professionals should be supported by providing medical supplies, medications and equipment, supporting their salaries, providing relevant training and protecting them from persecution, attacks and detention.
  
  

SAMS called upon international organizations including the World Health Organization, the UN and the ICRC to issue special reports on the plight of Syrian doctors, medical personnel and healthcare in general in Syria. SAMS also called for an immediate cease to indiscriminate attacks on civilians and medical personnel and respect for the principal of medical neutrality.

Advocacy within US and International Medical Associations

SAMS members raised the impact of the crisis in Syria on healthcare professionals and healthcare system in Syria in many medical associations, including World Health Organization, World Medical Association, Institute of Science, ECFMG and American Pediatrics Association among others. SAMS advocated for an official reponses to the crisis. The World Medical Association added the Syrian crisis to its global agenda and its president spoke to SAMS conference members in Orlando, Florida.

 

Publishing Scientific and Peer-reviewed Articles in Medical and Public Health Journals

SAMS members published new research, editorial and articles in peer-reviewed medical journals about the impact of the humanitarian crisis on Syrian healthcare system, Polio crisis, training of Syrian healthcare professionals for disaster management using portable technology, E-ICU, field hospitals, impact of barrel bombing on civilians and many other articles. Articles appeared in Lancet, British Medical Journal, Avicenna Medical Journal, Medscape, and American Journal of Orthopedic Surgery.

 

Participation in global conferences on protection of healthcare

SAMS leaders participated in several global conferences to protect healthcare professionals and facilities organized by Safeguarding Healthcare Coalition, Healthcare in Danger Coalition lead by ICRC and Bellagio Group.

Smart and Active Messaging in Traditional Media and Blogosphere
SAMS media team and leaders have issued tens of press releases highlighting the humanitarian situation, the targeting of healthcare professionals and hospitals, uncovering the chemical weapons attacks and calling for ending the crisis.

SAMS board member, Dr Sankari was among the 55 world medical leaders who signed an open letter in the Lancet raising awareness about the medical crisis in Syria and calling for protection of healthcare.

SAMS members and leaders held several press conferences and had hundreds of written, visual & radio media interviews, wrote Op-Eds and articles in major local, national and international newspapers and journals including Washington Post and Foreign Policy.

SAMS leaders and members were interviewed or featured in CNN, NPR, CBS, Aljazeera America, Voice of America, NYT, WP, WSJ, Times, Syria Deeply, Huffington Post and many  International and local media. SAMS was quoted in at least 60 major media articles in the past two years.

Social media campaign

SAMS established presence on social media and built an active Facebook page that is followed by more than 60,000 followers who are updated regularly on the humanitarian and medical situation and SAMS operations and projects. SAMS also established a twitter page that has so far more than 1500 followers who are updated on issues related to policies, crises, projects and changes on the ground. SAMS tweets are retweeted by thousands of twitter users including many of the relief, political, civic and healthcare leaders in the world.

Ads in major newspapers

In collaboration with members of the American Relief Coalition for Syria, SAMS organized two major Ads campaigns to raise awareness about the barrel bombing impact on Syrian children published in NYT in full page Ad reaching about 4 million readers and thanking the Turkish authorities to hosting hundreds of Syrian refugees published in NYT, Daily Telegraph, Sabah and Alhayat newspapers reaching about 10 million readers.

National and International Conferences

SAMS held 3 national conference in Orlando, Tampa and San Diego and 2 international conference in Istanbul, Turkey and Amman, Jordan to create awareness of medical situation in Syria, present original research focused on the ramification of the crisis, recognize and award volunteers and network with leaders of relief and human rights. The theme of the conferences focused on dealing with shortage at time of crisis, addressing complicated medical disasters, medical relief in areas of conflict, medical and surgical practices at time of crises and many other related topics.

“The 14^th SAMS International conference in Gaziantap, Turkey”

Conferences were ideal platform for networking, coordination, fundraising and exchange of best practices.

Meeting with Turkish and Jordanian authorities

SAMS leaders met with Turkish President, foreign minister, assistant health minister, Red Crescent leaders, AFAD Director and Director of Syrian affairs and Jordanian Minster of health, Interior Minister, Hashemite Charity Organization and US Ambassador to Jordan to thank them for opening their borders to Syrian refugees and discuss issues related to improving healthcare for Syrian refugees, facilitating sending medical containers and streamlining the conditions of Syrian doctors taking refuge in Jordan and Turkey.

Coalition building
SAMS furthered its own reach, and that of other non-government organizations (NGOs) assisting in the crisis by founding and participating in coalitions that addressed the different aspects of the Syrian crisis including Healthcare in Danger lead by ICRC, the American Relief Coalition for Syria (ARCS) composed of 20 US based relief organizations providing relief in Syria, Safeguarding Healthcare lead by the Public Health Department of Johns Hopkins University, International Crisis Group, End the Siege on Syria Coalition, With Syria Coalition, Union of Syrian Medical Relief Organizations (UOSSM) and others.

Organizing solidarity days with Syria
Using community organizing, social media and through coalition building, SAMS helped organize solidarity days for Syria including Syria Hunger Day, a solidarity fasting event to promote awareness of Syrians cities under siege and to request intervention from the international community and #WithSyria campaign to highlight the human toll of the crisis in its third anniversary.

Caption: At the White House with Dr A. Katranji, Dr. G. Netto and Dr. M. Sahloul following a meeting with National Security Staff on the humanitarian situation in Syria

 

 

Sub- “Risking Lives to Save Lives”: SAMS Highlights the Ordeal of Syrian Medical Personnel in New Report

SAMS released a report that focuses on the challenges faced by medical personnel and healthcare facilities in Syria. The report, titled “Risking Lives to Save Lives: the Ordeal of Medical Personnel in Syria” highlighted firsthand testimonies of Syrian physicians and medical personnel.

The report highlights the dangerous ordeal physicians and medical personnel have faced while responding to the emergency over two years of conflict inside Syria. It shows the extent of the medical disaster and the collapse of the health care system inside Syria, and the physicians’ resilience despite shortages of critical medical supplies and the overwhelming scale of medical needs caused by the conflict.

The report’s key findings are:

• Syria’s healthcare system has been destroyed by the conflict, due to targeting of medical personnel and facilities.

• Syria’s humanitarian catastrophe is escalating, surpassing the international community’s ability to respond

• Many Syrians in need cannot be reached by aid agencies

• Doctors and medical personnel in Syria put their lives in constant danger when providing medical services

• There is widespread misuse of hospitals and medical facilities inside Syria

• Human rights groups have documented instances of government forces torturing, interrogating, humiliating and executing patients inside hospitals and using hospitals to find and punish people with conflict-linked injuries

• There are few, if any, resources to support the psychological wellbeing of physicians working in facilities inside Syria and physicians are not equipped to deal with the psychological problems of trauma patients
  [add cover pdf of report here]
  SAMS called upon international organizations including the World Health Organization, the UN and the ICRC to issue special reports on the plight of Syrian doctors, medical personnel and healthcare in general in Syria. SAMS also called for an immediate cease to indiscriminate attacks on civilians and medical personnel, and respect for the principal of medical neutrality.
   
  SUB-HEADING: Proclamation from the Governor of Illinois 
  On March 5, 2014, the office of the Governor of Illinois, Honorable Pat Quinn, issued a proclamation that recognized the crucial work that SAMS is doing as a charitable organization. The statement also proclaimed March 8 as Syrian American Medical Society Day in Illinois to commend how SAMS is providing help to those in need.

Dr M. Zaher Sahloul

President

Syrian American Medical Society

http://www.sams-usa.net/

 

[Zaher Sahloul]

Dear all

I have not received any input from any of you. If I don't relieve any feedback by tonight 8 pm this will be the final advocacy report in the annual report . 

Zaher Sahloul 

[Abdalmajid Katranji]

Dear Zaher the attachment from your original email did not come through

Sent from my iPhone

[Abdalmajid Katranji]

I saw the attachment on this thread.  It is fantastic.

This is why SAMS is #1.

Sent from my iPhone

On May 15, 2014, at 4:56 PM, George Netto <gne...@jhmi.edu> wrote:

This is a greatly done report!

I can not believe how much SAMS has done !

Thank you , i could not think of anything else to add..

Gn

[abdul zanabli]

excellent report. Thank you Zaher.

 

Abdulrahman Zanabli, MD

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:  This message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information.  Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited and may not be copied or disclosed without the consent of the author. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.

On Thursday, May 15, 2014 7:23 PM, "Attar, Samer" <sat...@nmff.org> wrote:

I think it’s great as well.

I just made a few minor grammatical and transitional edits.

samer

1.      SAMS advocacy team met with permanent and nonpermanent members of the UNSC and briefed UN delegations about the medical and humanitarian situation in Syria

2.    Attending coordination event organized by Norwegian UN delegation for the “Member States of High level Group on Syria” and the Peace and Reconciliation department at Columbia University and attended by 20 UN member states and directors of IRC, HRW and UNOCHA.

3.    Meeting with US delegation to the UN including Ambassador Samantha Power to brief them on the humanitarian and medical situation in Aleppo. Ambassador Power taped a recorded video message during SAMS national conference thanking SAMS members for their heroic work and explaining the current UN policies.

4.    Attending UN delegations conference on Syria response plan in Geneva, Switzerland

5.    Meeting with UN Envoy to Syria, Mr. Lakhdar Ibrahimi to brief him on the humanitarian situation in Syria

6.    Participation in two conferences of UNESCWA, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, to draft 10 years vision for Syria after the end of the crisis. SAMS was the only Diaspora NGOs participating actively in the conferences held in Beirut, Lebanon

7.    Meeting with the UN Assistant General for UN Agency for Children in the Armed Conflict to document attacks on healthcare facilities in Syria

8.    Attending UN Foundations events on Syria and South Sudan

9.    Meetings with WHO director, Dr Brehnan, UNOCHA Director, John Jing and UNOCHA regional offices directors in Turkey and Jordan to coordinate medical relief.

10. Briefing UN delegations on Barrel Bombing impact on civilians in Aleppo organized by the Dutch UN Delegation.

 



This message and any included attachments are intended only for the addressee. The information contained in this message is confidential and may constitute proprietary or non-public information under international, federal, or state laws. Unauthorized forwarding, printing, copying, distribution, or use of such information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you are not the addressee, please promptly delete this message and notify the sender of the delivery error by e-mail

.