Dr. Inon Schenker
Tuesday, April 8th, 2008, 5:00 pm. SIUC Student Center, Mississippi Room.
Tears and Smiles in Black and White - Israeli Humanitarian Medical Assistance in Africa.
Tikkun Olam (healing/repairing the world) is a Jewish Value with many facets. In Israel this has been translated into concrete programs where Israel's excellence in medicine and public health is making roads into Africa through humanitarian medical assistance. Israel's contribution to global health is hailed by the United Nations, African leaders and governments and by public health leaders across the world.
Dr. Inon Schenker is a leading Israeli public health researcher and educator, specializing in the fields of HIV/AIDS prevention, youth risk-taking and international health. He has special expertise in the area of cross-cultural public health intervention in conflict regions. He was the coordinator of International Programs at the Hebrew University-Hadassah Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine in Jerusalem and has academic positions also at the University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Medicine and the Hadassah Jerusalem College. He is the founding chair of the Jerusalem AIDS Project and currently heads the Geneva Seminar on Global Health.
Dr. Schenker has worked at the World Health Organization's headquarters in Geneva and served as a senior public health consultant in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia. >From 1995 to 1999 he initiated a team consisting of Egyptians, Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians to develop a regional approach to HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support.
Dr. Inon Schenker is leading Israeli medical humanitarian projects in developing countries, and is an active member of the Israel Forum for International Humanitarian Aid (IsraAID).
Come hear this noted expert in the field of public health and aids prevention speak on heroic stories of Israeli doctors and nurses volunteering in global health missions and bringing smiles to suffering children, women and men across Africa.
Dr. Inon Schenker's Bio:
Dr. Inon Schenker is Israel's leading professional in HIV/AIDS Prevention. He is a well known researcher, senior consultant to government ministries, the IDF, UN and other international agencies. Since his weekly column, published in Israel's leading newspaper Maariv, he is also known as Israel's "AIDSMAN". Dr Schenker is hailed around the world for his leadership in "Tikkun Olam" projects, bringing Israeli experts in health to assist in developing countries.
Dr. Inon Schenker is currently leading "Operation Abraham" a cutting edge project in male circumcision for HIV prevention.
Inon Schenker holds a Ph.D. degree (Public Health and Science Education), a Masters of Public Health (MPH) degree and a B.A. degree in political science and sociology all from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
He has broad knowledge and expertise in public health and international health with a focus on: global health leadership, youth risk taking, new technologies in education for prevention and public health interventions in conflict areas.
International activities: Dr. Schenker currently holds an adjunct lecturer position at the University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Medicine. He teaches at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, at the Hadassah Jerusalem College and is an invited speaker internationally.
WHO: For two years he worked as a scientist with the World Health Organization at its headquarters in Geneva.
UNESCO: For one year he worked for UNESCO's Geneva Institute on Education (IBE) in establishing a crosscutting HIV/AIDS Project. He further contributed to UNESCO's HIV/AIDS programs as a consultant.
Inter-American Development Bank: On repeated contracts he was assigned as a team member to develop strategic HIV/AIDS education sector prevention planning for the 15 Caribbean Islands, including the development of capacity building workshops and materials.
For 18 years he worked as a senior consultant and conductor of training workshops in public health in Latin America, The Caribbean and Asia. Contributed to the UN Inter-Agency Task Team on HIV/AIDS Education and WHO Strategy on Health Promotion.
Served as team leader and evaluator for several National AIDS Programs (The Philippines, Nepal, Rwanda) UN agencies (UNAIDS, UNICEF, UNESCO) and AIDS Service Organizations (Brazil, Germany, Thailand, Russia).
Schenker was the chair of the 9th International Conference on AIDS Education.
Middle East and Israel: Dr Schenker was for four years the coordinator of International Programs at the Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine of the Hebrew University and Hadassah.
He is the founding chair of the Jerusalem AIDS Project (JAIP), an international not-for-profit organization, specializing in HIV/AIDS prevention and education.
During 1995-1999 he initiated with a team from the Middle East (Egyptians, Palestinians, Israelis and Jordanians) a regional approach to HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support. As a result, six regional workshops on School HIV/AIDS Education in the Middle East were held yearly in Jerusalem Since 1995.
In July 2004 and again in August 2006 he was the co-organizer of a satellite meeting on HIV/AIDS in the Middle East and North Africa with joint participation of Israeli, Palestinian and other Arab countries' professionals.
Publications: The book "AIDS Prevention: Interventions in Multi-Cultural Societies" edited with colleagues is a leading resource in the field. He is a co-author of the "Declaration on AIDS Education" and the "Detection of HIV in Minors Law, 5756-1996", relating to HIV and adolescents. Has published in peer reviewed journals and presented in scientific conferences.
Prizes: He was awarded the International Society for HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention award, Israeli Minister for Social Services Award, Carmela Roisman best research award and the Hadassah International Recognition Award