“From Treating the Human… To Care for Humanity
– A UOSSM Story”
Dr. Tawfik Chamaa, MD, graduated from Geneva University in 1985 and afterwards specialized in General and Internal Medicine, as well as studying a few other more specific fields, such as Clinical Ultrasound, Clinical Hypnosis, Obesity Assessment and Medical Statistics. He was the Director of Emergency Service (Médecin Urgence) of the Association des Médecins de Genève (AMG), from 1996-1998, and is presently the Director of Service Medical Junction (SMJ), a multidisciplinary medical group he established in 1997.
In September 2011, following the Syrian uprising, Dr. Chamaa created the Syrian Democrates Association, based in Geneva. Later that year, this association launched the first Geneva conference – Urgence Sanitaires Syrie, a one day conference that gathered numerous health supporting organisations created by Syrian diaspora doctors across from USA, France, Germany, UK and other countries. This conference was the landmark for the foundation of the UOSSM (Union des Organisations de Soins et Secours Médicaux) in Paris, the 7th of January 2012.
The UOSSM is an international NGO whose mission is to guarantee permanent access to quality and graceful health care, namely to the populations affected by the war in Syria. It is the result of the effort and determination of Syrian and international doctors, who wish to ensure a response to the health emergency in this country. Its action is based on close collaboration with local medical and paramedical teams. With a team of more than 600 people working on numerous sites throughout Syria, Turkey and Lebanon, UOSSM is today one of the most important NGOs present on the Syrian territory.
Dr. Chamaa, as the president of UOSSM Swiss and the general secretary of UOSSM International, will focus his lecture on this organization, its goals, challenges and its crucial intervention towards the Syrian victims.
