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Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) has been named a bronze winner of the 2026 MENASA (Middle East, North Africa and South Asia) Merit Awards in the Student Success category.The MENASA Area of NASPA was established to foster engagement and collaboration among student affairs professionals and to strengthen services to students and campuses through a range of resources and activities.The awards cover five categories critical to student success and the continued growth of the student affairs profession: Student Success, Collaborative Partnerships, Innovative Practices, Research, and Dedicated Professional (Commitment to the MENASA Area).Titled “From Aspiration to Identity: Building Tomorrow’s Physicians Through Mentorships,” WCM-Q’s award-winning submission focused on its Alumni Student Mentorship Programme, an innovative pre-medical division initiative designed to support the professional identity development of foundation and pre-medical students. It was established in 2024 by Dr Rachid Bendriss, associate dean for foundation, student outreach and educational development programmes at WCM-Q, and is coordinated by Dina Bamieh, student programmes specialist at WCM-Q.The programme connects new students with alumni mentors representing a wide range of specialties and experiences in Qatar and internationally. It provides early exposure to career pathways, fosters professionalism in medical education, and supports students in developing their professional identity.Commenting on her experience, pre-med 1 student Noof AlMalik said: “The mentorship programme has been a staple in my journey at WCM-Q ever since I started my foundation year in 2024. While I was somewhat hesitant to become a mentee early on, it became one of the most influential aspects of my educational journey.”WCM-Q alumna Dr Ghadeer Abdelwahab, a resident in emergency medicine at Hamad General Hospital, said: “I am truly grateful for the opportunity to be part of this incredible programme and to mentor such talented students. The mentees have impressed me with their professionalism, initiative and eagerness to learn. Their dedication and enthusiasm for medicine have been both inspiring and a powerful reminder of why I chose this career.”Dr Bendriss said: “We are truly honoured to receive this recognition, which reflects our commitment to supporting students from the start of their academic journey and helping them build their professional identity and excel in higher education. I sincerely thank our dedicated alumni mentors, whose contributions have been central to the programme’s success.” 

Funding agencies including the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) are transitioning from traditional mode of donors to innovative and inclusive financing bodies, QFFD director-general Fahad bin Hamad al-Sulaiti noted Monday. “I think that not only the QFFD is moving this way, transforming our mandate but most funds are transitioning,” he said. “We are moving from a traditional way to a new way of innovative financing. I think the issue really is scaling, and what we need is how we can have very innovative solutions that have the scaling to move forward.” Al-Sulaiti was speaking during a panel discussion on “Innovative Financing for Development: Scaling Impact and Driving Inclusive, Sustainable Growth” at the Doha Forum 2025.He noted that as per the data, the global inequality gap is increasing and not decreasing. “Education and health, economic empowerment among others, the gap in Africa is increasing,” al-Sulaiti said. “A large number of people in Africa still do not have electricity. This will never bring peace back, will never bring security back, and will never bring a good impact.” “The GDP always will be very low because they are not utilising their natural resources well,” he added. To overcome such challenges, the official suggested the involvement of private sector. “I have been meeting with a number of ministers and presidents during the Doha Forum and everyone is really taking this approach now,” al-Sulaiti said. “We have seen most of countries are now moving from government schooling,” he continued. “Now we can see a lot of private sectors have big investment on schooling and hospitals and other areas. So what we need is, the new way of supporting the least developed countries.” Al-Sulaiti was joined by AFD (French Development Agency) chief executive Remy Rioux, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) administrator Alexander De Croo, and Interpeace president Itonde Kakoma at the session moderated by International Finance Corporation division director Khawaja Aftab Ahmed. De Croo said in a video message that developing countries face an annual $4.3tn gap to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “In almost 60 developing countries, more than 10% of government revenues go to debt interest payments, leaving less money for schools, hospitals and sustainable growth,” he said “This is not a story of scarcity. It is a story of misalignment between capital and need.” Rioux noted that the institutions have become an enabler for the mobilisation of private finance while Kakoma highlighted the need for peace for economic prosperity and how leadership on innovative finance links to or is inextricably linked to peace diplomacy. “Peace is a de-risking mechanism by reducing the barriers that impede private sector investment and market formation,” Kakoma said. “So, investors are looking for predictability, enforceable contracts, functioning institutions and social cohesions, the very things that I see investing.” “However, conflict erodes all of these basic things, making capital more expensive, short-term and extractive, rather than productive and sustained,” he added. “We look at peace as risk mitigating rather than a parallel sector, enabling economic transformation.” 

The View Hospital, in affiliation with Cedars-Sinai, successfully hosted a Cedars-Sinai Patient Experience Expert Class as part of an ongoing effort to cultivate healthier communities in Qatar and across the region. The workshop brought together patient experience professionals from Cedars-Sinai and hospitals in Qatar to explore innovative strategies for enhancing patient experience. A full-day workshop designed to elevate patient-centered care and instill a culture of excellence across healthcare organizations. The program began with welcome remarks by Dr. Andy Jaffal, CMO of The View Hospital, and was led by Cedars-Sinai experts Alan Dubovsky, Vice President and Chief Patient Experience Officer, and Max Nicholson, Associate Director, Patient Experience. Together, they set the stage for a program that combined international expertise with practical frameworks tailored to local needs. Class discussions explored how organizations can secure leadership support and create governance structures that integrate patient experience throughout healthcare systems. Sessions examined the importance of translating strategy into action, ensuring that improvements are not just aspirational but measurable and sustainable. Participants also engaged in conversations about the daily operations of patient experience teams, the role of patient feedback in shaping services, and the continuous improvement practices that drive long-term impact. **media[379815]** Commenting on this, Dr. Fatih Gul, CEO of The View Hospital, said: “Hosting this workshop is a great reflection of our ongoing commitment to advancing patient experience and investing in our people. Through our affiliation with Cedars-Sinai, we continue to bring international best practices to Qatar, empowering our teams to deliver care that is both compassionate and world-class.” The afternoon featured a dynamic group exercise, where attendees worked collaboratively to transform insights into actionable solutions, bridging the gap between theory and practice. Through the collaboration with Cedars-Sinai, The View Hospital reaffirmed its commitment to patient experience, strengthening healthcare teams, and shaping a healthier future for communities in Qatar and the wider region. About The View Hospital in Affiliation with Cedars-Sinai: The View Hospital in affiliation with Cedars-Sinai, is under the aegis of Apex Health, a subsidiary of Estithmar Holding. It is a modern healthcare institution that focuses on world-class clinical excellence with a mission to become the hospital of choice, providing the highest, measurable care to its clients. Building on its clinical excellence and international partnership approach with Cedars-Sinai, The View Hospital delivers outstanding clinical expertise through highly experienced multi-disciplinary professional teams and systems. With 240 single private suites, 10 operating rooms and 23 intensive care beds, The View Hospital provides primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare services. Our operating rooms are equipped with the most advanced technology, allowing us to do minimally invasive surgery and imaging during operations. For more information about The View Hospital, please visit Theviewhospital.com