FXB Visiting Scholar Dr. Jumana Odeh receives 2025 APHA Disability Section Health Equity Award

BOSTON, OCTOBER 31, 2025

The FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University is proud to announce that Dr. Jumana Odeh, MD, MPH, Visiting Scholar and founder of the Palestinian Happy Child Centre, has been selected to receive the 2025 American Public Health Association (APHA) Disability Section Health Equity Award.

A Palestinian pediatrician based in Ramallah, Dr. Odeh created the “Happy Child” model more than 30 years ago to serve children with disabilities. What began as a small initiative for autistic children has grown into a replicable framework for community-based disability care that is now adopted and adapted across the region.

Dr. Odeh’s approach combines rigorous medical practice with deep compassion, embodying a philosophy that health care must be grounded in both scientific excellence and accompaniment of patients and their families. Few models merge these dimensions so seamlessly. Even amid decades of uncertainty and recurrent violence in the West Bank, this decentralized and community-rooted model has endured—sustaining families and giving children the tools to thrive.

Her recognition by APHA is a testament not only to a clinical model but also to the power of human connection. The award speaks across disciplines—medicine, disability studies, human rights, and global health—while offering a universal message of resilience, dignity, and hope amidst despair.

The FXB Center celebrates this well-deserved recognition of Dr. Odeh’s pioneering work and lifelong commitment to advancing health equity for all children. In addition, the FXB Center was selected by APHA as one of their featured partners in the 2025 APHA TV Thought Leadership Film Series. The video is available here.

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Press contact: Danai Macridi, danaiprado@hsph.harvard.edu