Zaher sahloul

Dr. Zaher Sahloul is a Critical Care Specialist and Associate Professor in Clinical Medicine at the University of Illinois in Chicago. He is the president and cofounder of Medglobal, a medical NGO that provides healthcare in disaster regions. Previously, Dr. Sahloul led the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) from 2011 to 2015, and Co-founded the American Relief Coalition for Syria, ARCS, the American Coalition for Syria and Syria Faith Initiative.  

Dr. Sahloul has many media appearances locally and internationally. He testified to the U.S. Congress and the United Nations Security Council multiple times on defending medical neutrality, the use of siege and chemical weapons, and the siege of Aleppo. He sits on the Advisory Board of the Syrian Community Network and the Center for Public Health and Human Rights at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and was a member of the Illinois Board of Health from 2009-2016. 

In 2020, Dr. Sahloul was awarded the Gandhi Award for Peace for his humanitarian work in Syria and at the global level. He has also received many other awards including the Heroes Among Us award by American Red Cross, Dr. Robert Kirschner’s Award for Global Activism by Heartland Alliance Kovler Center 2017, the Commitment to Change Award by the National Immigration Justice Center, and the Shine a Light on Global Refugee Crisis and Annual Humanitarian award by UNICEF Chicago 2017. He was also awarded Chicagoan of the Year in 2016 for risking his life with two other American doctors to provide healthcare to the civilians in Aleppo under siege and bombardment.