A good friend to AUB and to the people of Lebanon
November 5, 2020
The Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) has been a good friend of AUB – and of the people of Lebanon – for many years. It has supported many important initiatives at AUB including the Salim El-Hoss Bioethics and Professionalism Program, the Next Generation Sequencing Systems, scholarships for Syrian students, needy patients seeking care at the Medical Center, and the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences. AFESD recently made an especially generous gift to support priorities at the medical center in the aftermath of the August 4 explosion in the Beirut Port. Proceeds from the AFESD – AUBMC Support Fund are being used to assistant patients impacted by the August 4 explosion; for supplies and medications; for repairs at our damaged medical center; and to support the Pandemic Evaluation Clinic and Center (PECC) at AUBMC.
When he was awarded an honorary doctorate by AUB in 2009, HE Mr. Abdlatif Y. Al-Hamad, who was Director General/Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Arab Fund until his retirement in September 2020, spoke about how he had dedicated “my time and energy to try to solve the challenging problems of thirst and hunger, unemployment and poverty, disease and illiteracy.” These are among the many problems that AFESD is addressing by financing public and private investment projects and providing grants and expertise to advance economic and social development in the Arab world.
“We deeply appreciate our partnership with the Arab Fund,” said VP for Advancement and Business Development Imad B. Baalbaki. “AFESD has demonstrated repeatedly that it deeply appreciates the important role that educational institutions like AUB play as engines of development. The Fund has provided especially important funding for university priorities, including scholarships and care for needy patients, during this challenging year.”