FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 30th, 2024
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Humanitarian Aid Group MedGlobal Holds Major Conference & Gala in Chicago

Leading Physicians, Advocates, Philanthropists Gathering October 4-5 Amid Global Crises 

CHICAGO – MedGlobal, one of the leading medical aid providers in crisis zones around the world, will bring together dozens of expert humanitarians this week for its 2024 Conference and Gala, focused on the challenges facing crisis-struck global health systems and how to strengthen and support them. The conference, “Post Crisis Recovery and The Future in Global Health,” will take place Friday and Saturday, October 4th and 5th, from 8am-5 pm CST, at Chicago’s Marriott Magnificent Mile, 540 Michigan Avenue, 7th floor.

Members of the media are invited to attend the conference. Please fill out this form to RSVP. 

Speakers at the conference will include medical professionals renowned for their experiences in and testimony from Gaza, including MedGlobal’s president and co-founder Dr. Zaher Sahloul, co-founder Dr. John Kahler, board member Dr. Thaer Ahmad, Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, and Professor Nick Maynard of Oxford University. 

MedGlobal’s Gaza Country Director, Rajaa Musleh, will be present at the conference to share first-person insights on the humanitarian nightmare that Gaza has experienced in the year since October 7th. Josh Paul, a former senior U.S. official who resigned from the State Department in October 2023 due to his disagreement with the Biden administration’s decision to rush lethal military assistance to Israel for use in Gaza, will also speak.

MedGlobal staff and volunteers are deeply involved in providing medical and humanitarian support to major global crisis zones including Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan, Ukraine and more, operating in ten different countries worldwide. The full conference agenda can be viewed here.

Notable panels focused on the Gaza crisis include:

• “Gaza Humanitarian Crisis: What Did We Learn?” Friday, 10:50-11:30 am cst
• “Re-building Healthcare in Gaza,” Friday, 3-3:50 pm cst 
• “War, Malnutrition and Famine in Gaza, Saturday, 1-1:45 pm cst
• “Gaza: From the Field to Policy Circles,” Saturday, 11:35 am cst

The conference will also feature the debut of an immersive exhibition from Tom Lewendon, a British documentary photographer and storyteller who joined two MedGlobal volunteer missions in Gaza. “Hope and Resilience: MedGlobal’s Mission in Gaza” offers a rare and intimate look at life under siege.  The exhibition also includes Children of Gaza: The Kites Still Fly, a photo series that Tom plans to turn into a book, which captures the enduring spirit of Gaza’s children.

In addition to the exhibition, attendees will be invited to participate in a collective artwork by writing messages of hope on kite-shaped papers, symbolizing global solidarity with the people of Gaza. The exhibition is open to interested press starting on Thursday, October 3rd, and Lewendon is available for interviews. 

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WHAT: MedGlobal’s Conference and Gala: Post Crisis Recovery and The Future in Global Health

WHERE: Marriott Magnificent Mile, 540 Michigan Avenue, 5th floor, Chicago, IL

WHEN: Friday and Saturday, October 4th and 5th, 8am – 5 pm CST

RSVP: Please RSVP using this form.