The SAHA Project – raiSe libyAn Higher education Health sector for the benefit of local society – aims at contributing to the modernization of the Health and healthcare systems in Libya, by addressing both these major areas of concern that draw intense citizen and government attention throughout Libya. The SAHA Project is coordinated by Prof. Antonio M. Morone at the University of Pavia in the framework of the Erasmus + Capacity Building programme in the field of Higher Education (CBHE) and its Libyan partners are six different universities, i.e., Libyan International Medical University (LIMU), Tripoli University, Misurata University, Sebha University, Sirte University, and Zawia University. The SAHA Project’s consortium is also formed by University of Granada, University of West Bohemia, and UNIMED.

Health, academic research and institutional stabilisation: on these three pillars is based the whole SAHA Project’s planning action. They are intended to contribute to the stabilisation process of the country, in which the ongoing conflict is causing an increase health needs for the whole population. This is made possible by Libyan Universities’ constant and ongoing commitment. Because they are the heart of society, through Universities’ dedication it is possible to achieve structural results.

The SAHA project is intended to upgrade the quality of existing courses and enhance its relevance for the society by introducing new courses on Health Economics and Healthcare management and creating centres for health data management in the Libyan HEIs, setting up and managing academic centres for collecting medical data, and by creating an advisory multi stakeholder committee for defining policy recommendations at for local, regional, national and international stakeholders and decision-makers.

SAHA aims to increase education readiness in response to Libya’s main challenges, i.e., peace enforcing, healthcare access for Libyan population, public health, employment and economic growth. Especially within the field of healthcare services, the objective is to enhance the relevance of higher education in the field of Healthcare Management, improve the level of competences and skills in Libyan HEIs by developing new and innovative education programmes in Performance and Healthcare Management, promote voluntary convergence of training offers in Healthcare Management of Libyan HEIs, with developments in this filed in European HEIs, and foster a peaceful and safe environment for teaching, learning and doing research.