The Middle East Health Leadership Programme
This year the Middle East Health Leadership Programme (MEHLP), held at INSEAD Centre for Executive Education and Research in Abu Dhabi, proudly qualifies another twenty eight (28) graduates – all senior healthcare leaders from across the Arab region. The MEHLP is an initiative by Johnson & Johnson Corporate Citizenship Trust - Middle East Branch in partnership with the INSEAD, one of the world’s leading graduate business schools. This programme aims to provide healthcare policy makers with business and leadership skills required to deliver world class healthcare services to patients across the Arab region.
What makes this year’s programme unique is the participants’ diversity of background– selected from seven countries of the region including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Lebanon and Iraq. The graduates represent both the public and private sectors of high office and responsibility within their own jurisdictions (senior representatives from the Executive Council of the GCC Ministers of Health as well as Undersecretaries from the Ministries of Health of the UAE and Oman).
His Excellency Dr. Ali Bin Shakar, Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Health, and a graduate of the programme comments: "The programme offers the opportunity to discuss and reflect upon several schools of thoughts. In addition, the diversity of the participants in terms of their depth and breadth of experience and background has significantly enriched the sessions. Through dialogue and open exchange of ideas- with support of the academics and trainers, we have achieved significant and comprehensive outputs with regards our leadership in health for our region".
For this year’s programme the curriculum has been tailored to reflect the expectations and realities of the region as well as feedback from graduates – for example this year’s sessions feature a course on crisis management premised on the Lebanon crisis as well as a course to discuss assessment of healthcare technology.
Dr. Mamdouh Ayad, Strategic Affairs Director, Johnson & Johnson Medical Middle East, comments: “This initiative is part of a broader Johnson & Johnson corporate citizenship programme which reflects our commitment to deliver value to the communities we serve. One of our key criteria is to listen to the needs of the people. We are committed to making this programme interactive by continuously updating it and adapting it to the local healthcare needs”.
The MEHLP is based on a European programme which has been running for the last twelve years in Europe with over 600 graduates. The programme is designed to equip its participants with concepts, tool, techniques and strategies to play significant leadership roles in a rapidly changing and challenging healthcare environment. This programme is being successfully introduced in the Arab region, focusing on key issues that healthcare policy makers must deal with; enhance patient access and optimize the use of their healthcare resources while maintaining control of expenditure and ensure quality patient care.
Stephen Chick, INSEAD Programme Director and Professor of Technology and Operations Management, added:”Our aim is to bring best-in-class research and learning to the Middle East as well as sharing best management models from both the region and the rest of the world .We also focus on providing established international best-practice in three core areas of healthcare management; leadership, management excellence and innovation. The shared experiences of the group help support a shared learning environment”.
Jon Chilingerian, Professor at Brandeis University and Visiting Professor at INSEAD added: “What makes this programme innovative is the international comparison and benchmarking of health care proactive from both a leadership perspective and from a process excellence perspective. Great doctors and nurses are not necessarily trained to be great managers. And MEHLP, like EHLP, is designed to help health care professionals become more effective leaders and managers. Using regional case studies and locally relevant research in the programme, we are therefore bringing to the Middle East a platform for learning and training for effective health care delivery with innovative models of care.
Participants in the MEHLP take part in sessions of high level analysis; engagement through teamwork to solve complex issues and study of best-practice examples on how to empower healthcare staff to deliver greater effectiveness and quality in services to patients.
Dr. Hala Al Mehza, Chief of International Relations, Executive Board Member, Bahrain comments: “This was a very intensive training and extremely useful mainly because it brought together well experienced people from across the region. In addition, the programme provided up to date and real life cases which is the best way to learn. This programme is not about gaining the “secret” to leadership but about discovering one’s ability and realizing that there are different styles and approaches. There is also a need to provide for an environment whereby heads of organizations seek to identify among their employees those who have that potential and support them accordingly”.
Iraq’s participant, Dr. Walid El Hadithi, First Vice President, Iraqi Medical Association added: “This training rich in information and examples has opened up for me new horizons in terms of gaining a better understanding of human behavior and how to deal with patients, customers, colleagues to best meet their needs and manage their expectations”.
Johnson & Johnson Corporate Citizenship Trust – Middle East Branch*
The Johnson & Johnson Corporate Citizenship Trust Middle East branch is an independent entity established in 2008 in Dubai, which has been entrusted in carrying out the tenets of the Credo of the Johnson & Johnson Family Group of Companies. Its role consists of overseeing and supporting the corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes of Johnson and Johnson Middle East Inc. The Trust’s main objectives are to ensure that CSR initiatives are aligned with the three strategic pillars of Johnson &Johnson which are to build healthcare capacity of those who serve the health needs of the community, particularly through education; improve and save the lives of women and children; and prevent disease and reduce stigma and disability in underserved communities in areas where Johnson & Johnson has a high potential for impact.
*A branch of the Johnson & Johnson Corporate Citizenship Trust, Registered office Simpson Parkway, Kirkton Campus, Livingston, Edinburgh EH54 7AT, Scotland Registered Charity No. SC017977, Company Registered by Guarantee in Scotland No. 327028
