English 
Under the auspices of Professor Dr. Abdelaziz Konsowa, President of Alexandria University, Dr. Saeed Allam, Vice President of the University for Community Service and Environmental Development Affairs, Dr. Ali Abdelmohsen, Acting Vice President for Education and Student Affairs, and Dr. Mervat Kassem, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, attended the lecture organized by the Faculty of Pharmacy entitled “Mental Health: Patient’s Courage and Society Culture.” The lecture was attended by Ambassador Nabila Makram, founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of “Fahem” Foundation for Psychological Support and former Minister of State for Immigration and Affairs of Egyptians Abroad.
In her speech, Ambassador Nabila Makram indicated that Fahem Foundation is concerned with raising awareness of mental health, strengthening social relations between members of society, and discovering mental illnesses, and it also aims to break the stigma that may haunt the mentally ill. Ambassador Makram expressed her regret for society’s description of the mentally ill with incorrect descriptions or titles. She called for correcting these concepts among individuals and society, getting closer to the patients, listening to them, and changing the culture of society in this regard. She also stressed the necessity of staying away from any influences on mental health, pointing to the negative impact of social networking sites and news of various conflicts and wars in the entire world. She also extended her respects to Egyptian women for their struggles and the state of suffering that a family member may face with mental illness.
During the meeting, an open dialogue was held with faculty members from the Faculty of Pharmacy on how to deal with the mentally ill and integrate them into society, as well as the importance of psychiatric medications in stabilizing and treating the psychological condition.
The meeting was attended by Dr. Mohamed El Feky, Dean of the Faculty of Law, Dr. Sherif Rostom, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy for Community Service and Environmental Development Affairs, Dr. Hanan Goweili, Vice Dean of the Faculty for Education and Student Affairs, Dr. Hala Mostafa, Vice Dean of the Faculty for Postgraduate Studies and Research, Dr. Iman Youssef, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Medicine for Education and Student Affairs, and Dr. Tamer Abdullah, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Medicine for Community Service and Environmental Development Affairs, in addition to faculty members at the Faculty of Pharmacy.
The organization of the meeting was supervised by Dr. Hamida Abu Shleib, emerita professor at the faculty, and representatives of the African Centre for Women’s Health Services in Alexandria.
