Dr. Houssam al-Nahhas, MD, MPH, currently serves as a Health and Human Rights Researcher at PHR, where he documents and analyzes attacks on health care, including the targeting of medical facilities and the detention of health care workers. His research also covers violations of human rights and humanitarian law, examining the impact of violence on the right to health and the medical consequences of human rights abuses. He advocates for safeguarding access to health care for people affected by conflict and violence.
Before joining PHR, Dr. al-Nahhas played a crucial role in Syria’s health care crisis, enduring firsthand attacks on health care. Detained by the Syrian government for providing medical assistance, he also worked in medical facilities directly targeted by the government. As an emergency room physician in eastern Aleppo, he prepared for mass casualty events, including chemical threats. His role in documenting chemical weapon use in Syria, confirming the government’s actions in April 2014, helped to expose these deadly attacks.
With over a decade of research in Syria, Dr. al-Nahhas has actively contributed to global health research, with publications in prestigious journals. Collaborating with the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, he supported data for the Lancet-AUB Commission on Syria and contributed to developing platform prototypes for a Burden of War analysis.
Dr. al-Nahhas began his medical studies at Aleppo University in 2006 and earned his degree in medicine from Istanbul University in 2018. Recognized for his outstanding contributions, he received the PHR Award and the Johns Hopkins University Outstanding Recent Graduate Award. He is also a commissioner at the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health-Lancet Commission on Health, Conflict, and Forced Displacement. He is fluent in Arabic and Turkish.