Healthcare Under Siege: A Surgeon’s Perspective from Gaza
Chair
Moderator
We are delighted to announce that the Global Surgery Policy Unit (GSPU) hosted a public lecture with Professor Nick Maynard.
In this lecture, Professor Maynard shared his firsthand experiences of working in Gaza over the past 16 years, including his recent medical missions during the current conflict. Drawing on his unique perspective as a surgeon and humanitarian, he reflected on the devastating consequences of the war for Gaza's health system, healthcare workforce and patients, and discuss the challenges of delivering medical care in an active conflict zone.
Meet the speakers, chair, and moderator
Speaker: Professor Nick Maynard is a Consultant Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon in Oxford, Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Oxford, and Past President of the Association of Upper GI Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland. Since 2010, he has travelled regularly to Gaza, where he has worked closely with local healthcare professionals and medical schools, teaching and training students and surgeons. Through his work with Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP UK), Professor Maynard has provided and taught advanced upper gastrointestinal surgery for both cancer and benign diseases, helping to strengthen surgical capacity in the region. In December 2023, he led the first UK medical mission into Gaza during the current conflict and has since undertaken two further missions. He currently serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of both MAP UK and IMET 2000 (International Medical Education Trust), a charity dedicated to advancing medical education worldwide. In recognition of his humanitarian work in Gaza, Professor Maynard was awarded the UK Government Humanitarian Medal, which he received from King Charles III at Buckingham Palace in February 2025.
Chair: Dr Rocco Friebel is Associate Professor of Health Policy and Deputy Director of LSE Health. He directs the Global Surgery Policy Unit and founded the WHO Collaborating Centre for Health Policy and Impact of Integrated Emergency, Critical, and Operative Care at LSE. In 2025–26 he was a Harkness Fellow at Columbia University and Brown University.
Moderator: Miss Rachel Hargest is a Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Cardiff, Consultant Surgeon, and Co-Director of the Global Surgery Policy Unit. She is a council member and former trustee of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and Royal Society of Medicine. She has won multiple awards for excellence in both clinical practice (BMJ Gastroenterology team of the year award 2015, NHS Wales award for improving patient care 2011) and training (Silver Scalpel 2017, FST Medal 2019).
About the Global Surgery Policy unit
The GSPU is a unique and strategic collaboration between LSE Health and the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England). Established to advance global public health, surgical, obstetric and anaesthesia care, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries, the goal of the GSPU is to strengthen and contribute to the evidence-base for global surgical care through policy research and dialogue, capacity-building partnerships and advocacy initiatives aimed at informing decision-makers and empowering communities.
Learn more about the GSPU's work.
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