Dr Ibrahim Bou Orm
- Senior Lecturer, International Public Health
Biography
Dr Ibrahim R. Bou-Orm is a medical doctor with extensive experience in global public health research and practice. He joined Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) as Senior Lecturer in Global Health and Social Sciences in 2024. Before joining LSTM, he served as Lecturer and Teaching Lead at the Institute for Global Health and Development, Queen Margaret University Edinburgh, where he oversaw the MSc programmes in Global Health, the teaching portfolio of the department, and taught modules on health systems and policy. He also led research studies on health, conflict and forced migration, as well as non-communicable disease prevention and control and mental health and psychosocial support, particularly in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Ibrahim also contributed to the work of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Unit on Health in Situations of Fragility as NIHR doctoral fellow, conducting a PhD research on the political economy of non-communicable disease prevention and control and the response of Lebanon’s systems for health to non-communicable diseases. He also supported the wider work of the unit in global settings such as evaluating the community-based health planning and services in Northern Ghana.
His previous professional roles included serving as Lebanon’s national coordinator for non-communicable disease prevention and control and refugee health at the Ministry of Public Health in 2017, and working with international NGOs and UN agencies in Lebanon and the Middle East. Ibrahim has actively contributed to international conferences and participated in key expert consultation meetings, such as the World Health Organisation Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean consultation meeting on health systems recovery from emergencies (2023). Most recently, he supported the World Health Organisation Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean in assessing the implementation of the regional framework for action on diabetes prevention and control in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and developing the principles and priorities for health system recovery in the occupied Palestinian territory. Dr Bou-Orm has held an academic affiliation with St. Joseph University of Beirut, supporting the creation and coordination of their PhD programme in Public Health. He holds a medical degree (MD) from St. Joseph University of Beirut, a Master of Public Health from the American University of Beirut, and a PhD from Queen Margaret University – Edinburgh.
Research interests
Ibrahim has extensive experience in designing and implementing complex health systems and policy studies in fragile and conflict-affected settings. His research focuses on health (systems and policy) in the contexts of conflicts, emergencies, and forced displacement, as well as non-communicable disease prevention and control and mental health and psychosocial support, and the intersection between these themes. He applies a range of methods, including applied political economy analysis, systems dynamics, surveys, and mixed methods approaches, to analyse how health systems deliver care for vulnerable and displaced populations in emergencies and protracted crises.
He has contributed to global consortia addressing these research areas, including the Lancet Commission on Health, Conflict and Forced Displacement, working with world-leading experts on reimagining the humanitarian system and advancing research and policy to protect health in situations of conflict and forced migration. He has also been actively involved in the UK- Foreign, Commonwealth& Development Office-funded ReBUILD for Resilience research consortium, investigating health systems resilience in fragile settings.
Previously, Ibrahim led case studies under a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees-funded project examining the integration of refugees into national health systems across different settings, including Mauritania and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Through this work, he explored governance arrangements, financing models, and service delivery mechanisms that promote equitable access to health services for displaced populations. Ibrahim’s research interests are interdisciplinary, bridging global health, social sciences, and health policy and systems research, with a strong commitment to informing policy and practice in fragile and conflict-affected settings.
Teaching
Ibrahim has extensive experience in teaching and academic leadership across MSc, MPH, and PhD-level programmes in the UK and Lebanon. His teaching portfolio includes courses, seminars and/or lectures on health systems and policy, non-communicable disease prevention and control, research proposal writing, research methods and evidence-based public health. In his leadership roles at The Institute for Global Health and Development and Saint Joseph University, Ibrahim contributed to the design and management of postgraduate education programmes in global public health.
At LSTM, he contributes to the teaching of both in-person and online programmes, as well as professional short courses. His teaching at LSTM covers health systems and policy, health systems in conflict-affected settings, non-communicable diseases in emergencies, and the political economy of health systems. Ibrahim’s teaching approach is interdisciplinary, practice-oriented, and closely aligned with his research, emphasising critical thinking, active learning, and the application of knowledge to real-world challenges, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected settings.
Ibrahim has supervised the research of several postgraduate students, at MSc/MPH and PhD levels in recent years. He welcomes enquiries from prospective PhD applicants whose research aligns with his areas of expertise, particularly health systems in conflict-affected settings, forced displacement and health, and non-communicable diseases in emergencies and protracted crises.
Selected research publications
A chronicle of crises and emergencies: (dis)continuity of care for Syrian refugee children with neglected non-communicable diseases in Lebanon – Journal: Conflict and Health – Published: 30th May 2025
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