Cynthia Myntti

Beyond reproductive health: listening to women about their health in disadvantaged Beirut neighborhoods.

In this article, we aim to contextualize gynecological problems within a broader health and social context, expanding the lens beyond reproductive health. Questionnaires were administered to 1,869 ever-married women aged 15 to 59 that included questions on living, general health, and gynecological problems. These questions were open-ended, allowing women to respond in their own words. Women reported a multitude of health problems, indicating competing priorities. Musculoskeletal complaints emerged as the most prevalent and most important health problem. One in four women reported a gynecological problem, mainly reproductive tract infections (RTIs), when asked directly. Selected quotes provide clues about the complex relationship between womens lives and health.

Through Thick and Thin: The American University of Beirut Engages Its Communities

Universities exist to prepare young men and women for useful and productive lives. Many also aim to produce thinkers and leaders who will embody social responsibility by devoting all or a part of their professional lives to the public good. Social responsibility is at the heart of two new civic engagement initiatives at the American University of Beirut (AUB): The Center for Civil Engagement and Community Service, located in the Office of the Provost of AUB and founded in spring 2008; and The Neighborhood Initiative, located in the Office of the President and launched formally in autumn 2007. This chapter uses the challenges facing these young initiatives to raise broader questions about the civic engagement of universities, particularly in the Arab World, which is in the throes of an unprecedented popular uprising against the corrupt, unjust, and undemocratic status quo. While many of the challenges identified here will be familiar to institutions in other settings, the experience of a university located in a place of war and conflict puts questions about the fundamental values underlying this work into stark relief.

The AUB Neighborhood Initiative: Social Responsibility in a University’s Backyard

Some might find it surprising to see a chapter about a university in a book on corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, like businesses, many universities are now asking how they can be more socially responsible ‘citizens’ of their communities. Many of the same forces are at work in businesses and at universities to encourage new thinking and action on social responsibility, ranging from the basic utilitarian pressures to generate good publicity to the realignment of core business practices and relationships around clearly articulated ethical principles.

Health research in a turbulent region: the Reproductive Health Working Group

Abstract The Reproductive Health Working Group (RHWG) was established in 1988 in Cairo to advance research in the Arab countries and Turkey on the health of women, broadly defined. The paper considers the ways in which the group contributed to global health conversations through three examples of interdisciplinary research that, in privileging local contexts, modified or even challenged prevailing approaches to health and often raised entirely new issues for consideration. The three examples cited in the paper are: (i) the network’s early research on reproductive morbidity; (ii) a broad set of ongoing studies on childbirth/maternal health; and (iii) emerging research on health and conflict. The paper discusses how the RHWG has strengthened research capability in the region, and explores the reasons for the longevity of this research network.

Civic Engagement in a Challenging Political Context: The Neighborhood Initiative at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon.

This essay uses the experience of one community engagement program at the American University of Beirut (AUB), a prominent private university in Lebanon, to reflect on the value and challenges of civic engagement in a non-Western context. It describes the Lebanese sectarian political system, provides an overview of the AUB Neighborhood Initiative, and comments on the unique role universities can play in the making of citizens in such a context. Contributing to practical problem-solving outside the walls of the university is the first important step in this process.

The urban university as good citizen: The American University of Beirut's Neighborhood Initiative

The American University of Beirut’s Neighborhood Initiative was launched in 2007 to encourage faculty and students to contribute to solving the problems affecting the district of Beirut located just outside the university walls. Among the issues addressed are congestion, poor walkability, near absence of greenery, an aging population, and growing disparities between rich and poor residents. Four challenges confront the Initiative: attracting over-committed faculty to work on local problems; raising funds for programmatic activities; creating meaningful relationships with neighbors and other stakeholders; and addressing the economic trends now transforming the neighborhood.