UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF HRH PRINCESS GHIDA, WAR TRAUMA CONFERENCE 2026 OPENS IN AMMAN
shahennews
Under the patronage of HRH Princess Ghida Talal, Chairperson of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF) and Center (KHCC), the War Trauma Conference 2026 opened today at the Landmark Amman Hotel.
Convened by Early Light Foundation in partnership with KHCF, the two-day conference brings together more than 40 regional and international speakers, alongside mental-health and healthcare professionals, humanitarian practitioners, researchers and other individuals working directly with war-affected communities.
Held under the theme What If There Is No “Post” to PTSD?, the conference examines how trauma care must respond when conflict, displacement, insecurity and loss are ongoing. Its programme connects clinical research with lived experience and culturally grounded approaches to care.
During her remarks, HRH Princess Ghida stated: “There is no health without mental health, and there can be no mental health without the proper structures, expertise, and safe spaces to address psychological trauma. For our patients from Gaza at the King Hussein Cancer Center, cancer treatment addresses only one part of their suffering. They carry traumas that no one should ever be made to bear. We are here today because we refuse to accept this injustice.”
Dr Alexandra Chen, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Early Light Foundation and founder of Healing for Gaza, said: “Today’s gathering emerges from heartache for the child who has lost everything to war trauma and asks, ‘Is my life still worth living?’ We have a duty to help children and their communities answer this question with a resounding yes, by providing healing that is safe, effective, and dignified. May the urgency of this work move us to innovate and collaborate – to stitch light and hope into children’s lives for generations to come.”
Speakers include Palestinian psychiatrist Dr Samah Jabr; trauma psychiatrist and researcher Dr Bessel van der Kolk; Palestinian public-health scholar Prof. Sawsan Abdulrahim; psychiatrist and internal-medicine physician Dr Nasri Jacir; and Internal Family Systems founder Dr Richard Schwartz.
The conference continues through 20 September with keynote addresses, panels and specialist sessions addressing the effects of war trauma on children, families and frontline workers, the limits of conventional PTSD frameworks, and culturally responsive approaches to healing.
The Gala Dinner for Gaza will take place this evening under the patronage of HRH Princess Ghida Talal, featuring a special address by Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah and a live performance by Palestinian singer, composer and flautist Nai Barghouti. Proceeds will support Healing for Gaza’s trauma-therapy services for war-affected children, families and frontline workers.
The conference is supported by ATICO Fakhreldin Group, Platinum Sponsor, and Arab Wings, Silver Sponsor. Mazaj FM is its sole official Arabic-language radio partner, with additional media support from Beat FM and Roya TV.
