“When people become in charge of their sexual agency, they have gone a long way culturally and intellectually, and in terms of self-assertiveness.”
A Mission Toward Sexual Agency
For Dr. Faysal El Kak, sexual and reproductive healthcare extends far beyond medical services. Through the Women Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) Program at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC), his work centers on providing integrated clinical care, challenging stigma, promoting bodily autonomy, and reframing sexual health as an issue of equity and agency.
Dr. El Kak described the WISH Program as the first initiative in the region aiming to promote and normalize sexual health across all dimensions of wellbeing. Not only does the program provide medical care, but it also focuses on advocacy and education, all while challenging the stigma surrounding sexuality and reproductive health. As Dr. El Kak said: “Sexual health is not about sexual act, but about sexual politics, sexual dynamics, and empowerment.”
The program works toward this goal by providing counseling and clinical services, awareness campaigns, volunteer programs, research, and regional trainings in several countries, including Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, and the UAE, as well as participating in international sexual health assemblies with global health organizations. Over the years, the WISH Program has secured significant funding to expand its reproductive health initiatives and advocacy across the region.
In parallel to his work as an obstetrician-gynecologist, professor, and researcher, Dr. El Kak also trains healthcare providers on how to deliver gender-sensitive, equitable, and non-judgmental care.
From Clinics to Shelters: A Continuum of Care
After years of working in the fields of maternal, sexual, and reproductive health, Dr. Faysal El Kak quickly mobilized resources to respond to the growing needs of displaced communities with the escalation of the war in March 2026. As the director of the WISH Program, Dr. El Kak and his team, in collaboration with the OBGYN department in AUBMC, established free clinics focused on maternal and reproductive healthcare directed toward displaced women and girls.
The clinics provide a variety of services such as pregnancy care, gynecological health, menstrual health support, consultations, necessary laboratory and diagnostic tests, and follow-up services, both in person and online. Happening every Saturday, these clinics usually host between 35 and 55 women and girls seeking sexual and reproductive health.
This initiative by the WISH Program clinic is also carried out in collaboration with several different organizations and initiatives, such as Heal her. Embrace her. Remember (HER) Fund, Obstetrics and Gynecology Interest Group (OGIG), and the AUBMC nursing department, creating a network of support combining medical care with community outreach.
On top of clinical services, the WISH Program conducted awareness sessions in several shelters about menstrual hygiene, sanitation, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), infection prevention, and gender-based violence risks. Their team visits shelters regularly and highlights reproductive health concerns that are often overlooked and disregarded during emergencies. An important part of their approach is the training of displaced individuals in shelters to become educators and focal points for their own communities, creating a support system for others even when medical and humanitarian teams are not available.
A Crisis Within Crisis
Stepping in at a time of crisis for Dr. El Kak is not optional, but mandatory and urgent. While immediate medical interventions are often prioritized, reproductive sexual health is frequently neglected despite being essential. As he explains: “Historically and globally speaking, the first thing that falls out and is compromised in crisis is sexual and reproductive health, and this is mainly my drive: filling the gaps in the crisis. Sex does not stop in times of crisis, pregnancy does not wait in times of crisis, and menstrual health does not either. That is why we need to fill that gap. Sexual and reproductive health never stops.”
Nevertheless, despite the structural challenges that accompany humanitarian work, he says that “in a humanitarian crisis, you just roll your sleeves up and do what you can do. Every help is needed.”
How to Help
If you want to contribute to the WISH Program, you can contact them by email at wish@aub.edu.lb
Clara Ghorayeb
Clara Ghorayeb earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at the American University of Beirut (AUB), with a minor in Gender Studies. Her interests include structural inequalities, collective care, and social issues in Lebanon and the broader region. She has also been involved in volunteer and activist initiatives focused on social and humanitarian issues.