Photo credit: John Cairn
A distinction honouring Dr Besrour’s global commitment
Oxford, United Kingdom — 8 October 2026
On 8 October 2026, Dr Sadok Besrour attended the autumn meeting of the Chancellor’s Court of Benefactors at the University of Oxford. He now sits on the Court at the invitation of the University’s Chancellor, The Rt Hon Lord Hague of Richmond, in recognition of his outstanding support for the institution. This distinction honours a long-standing philanthropic commitment to higher education and global health.
The Chancellor’s Court of Benefactors brings together philanthropists whose generosity has supported the University’s major research initiatives, long-term projects and scholarship programmes over many years.
Its autumn meeting is the Court’s most important annual gathering, providing members with an opportunity to engage with University leaders, academics and fellow benefactors.
This year, part of the programme took place at the recently opened Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities. Participants were able to attend performances and enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at this new venue, which the University has dedicated to creativity, culture and dialogue.
“It is a great honour to join the Chancellor’s Court of Benefactors and to continue our collaboration with the University of Oxford,” said Dr Besrour.
“Our shared goal is to strengthen primary care, advance medical education and support the next generation of health leaders, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.”
This distinction builds on an already established collaboration.
Dr Besrour’s support has enabled the creation, within the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, of:
The Centre is dedicated to improving access to high-quality primary care around the world. Its work encompasses international research, education, professional training and the strengthening of family medicine programmes, particularly for underserved communities and low- and middle-income countries, including Tunisia.
The University has confirmed that Green Templeton College will host the Professorship. Recruitment for its inaugural holder is currently under way. The appointee will lead the Centre’s research, education and international collaboration activities.
The work of the Dr Sadok Besrour Foundation is centred on three closely connected areas: health, education and heritage.
Across each of these fields, the dialogue established with the University of Oxford contributes to advancing knowledge and innovation from a distinctly international perspective.
Health lies at the heart of this collaboration. The Professorship and the Besrour Centre provide the University with sustainable resources to deepen knowledge of primary care and share its findings more widely.
The work carried out within the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences is intended to inform more equitable and resilient models of care, adapted to the realities of low- and middle-income countries.
Education also occupies a central place in the Centre’s mission. Teaching, professional training and the strengthening of family medicine are intended to prepare those who will shape the future of public health.
Drawing on Oxford’s long-standing academic tradition, the Foundation has chosen to make a long-term investment in highly trained professionals who, in turn, will be able to contribute to the development of their countries’ health systems.
Heritage, finally, finds a natural resonance at Oxford. With more than nine centuries of knowledge transmission, the University demonstrates, notably through the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, that culture, creativity and dialogue are an integral part of the academic mission.
The Foundation sees this as a source of inspiration for its own work in support of both tangible and intangible heritage, regarded as a field of knowledge, transmission and international influence.
These three areas complement and reinforce one another. Together, they reflect a shared conviction: academic excellence achieves its fullest meaning when it serves communities, in Tunisia and around the world.
This visit provided an opportunity to strengthen the ties between the Dr Sadok Besrour Foundation and the University of Oxford, while reaffirming their shared commitment to more equitable, resilient and sustainable primary care systems.
By joining the Chancellor’s Court of Benefactors, Dr Besrour becomes part of a community of long-standing supporters of one of the world’s oldest universities.
This recognition acknowledges the progress already made through the Professorship and the Besrour Centre. It also marks the beginning of a new chapter, with the forthcoming appointment of the first holder of the Professorship and the continued development of the Centre’s international partnerships.
The 2014 Conference : This Conference was framed around innovation and action. Its goal was no longer simply to reflect or organise, but to concretely advance family medicine worldwide through tools, strategies, and new partnerships. It began by presenting the results of the working groups established in 2013: accounts of the emergence of family medicine training in several countries, a faculty development workshop, and initial publication work. The groups were refocused and expanded, notably with the addition of community engagement and the creation of a new group on continuing medical education for general practitioners, including those not specifically trained as family physicians. The Conference also proposed the creation of research teams to more rigorously demonstrate the effects of family medicine across different contexts. Finally, it led to a major institutional milestone: approval of the creation of the Besrour Centre, conceived as a lasting platform for collaboration, research, dissemination, and support for the development of family medicine worldwide.
The 2013 Conference : The second Conference marked the shift from reflection to more concrete implementation. Its theme, "Strengthening the Foundations," reflected the intent to consolidate the discipline and turn discussions into structured action. Four working groups were created. The first focused on narratives of family medicine training, documenting the rollout of programs in different countries. The second addressed advocacy, community engagement, and the ethics of international partnerships, with the goal of producing frameworks and tools useful to those working on the ground. The third group was tasked with producing discussion and dissemination documents. Finally, the fourth group examined faculty development, particularly in medical schools that did not yet have a family medicine program. This Conference thus helped structure collaborative work and confirmed the key role of university departments in the discipline's global development.
The 2012 Conference : The first Conference mainly laid the groundwork for the project. It aimed to define a shared vision, mission, and strategic priorities for strengthening family medicine worldwide, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries. Five major priorities emerged: making family medicine a central, viable, and effective component of national health systems; strengthening continuing education and knowledge among family physicians; encouraging accreditation and certification; supporting the development of medical faculties; and fostering knowledge production to measure the impact of family medicine on health. This first Conference played a founding role by establishing the intellectual and strategic framework of the initiative.
La conférence 2014 : Cette conférence s’est inscrite dans une logique d’innovation et de passage à l’action. Son objectif n’était plus seulement de réfléchir ou d’organiser, mais de faire avancer concrètement la médecine familiale à l’échelle mondiale grâce à des outils, des stratégies et de nouveaux partenariats. Elle a d’abord permis de présenter les résultats des groupes de travail mis en place en 2013 : récits sur l’émergence de la formation en médecine familiale dans plusieurs pays, atelier de perfectionnement professoral et premiers travaux de publication. Ensuite, les groupes ont été recentrés et élargis, notamment avec l’ajout de l’engagement communautaire et la création d’un nouveau groupe sur la formation médicale continue des médecins généralistes, y compris ceux qui n’avaient pas été formés spécifiquement comme médecins de famille. La conférence a aussi proposé la création d’équipes de recherche pour mieux démontrer, de manière rigoureuse, les effets de la médecine familiale dans différents contextes.
Enfin, elle a mené à une avancée institutionnelle majeure : l’approbation de la création du Centre Besrour, conçu comme une plateforme durable de collaboration, de recherche, de diffusion et de soutien au développement de la médecine familiale dans le monde.
La conférence 2013 : La deuxième conférence a marqué le passage de la réflexion à une mise en œuvre plus concrète. Son thème, "Renforcer les fondations", traduisait la volonté de consolider la discipline et de transformer les échanges en actions structurées. Quatre groupes de travail ont alors été créés. Le premier portait sur les récits de formation en médecine familiale afin de documenter l’implantation de programmes dans différents pays. Le deuxième s’intéressait au plaidoyer, à l’engagement communautaire et à l’éthique des partenariats internationaux, avec pour objectif de produire des cadres et des outils utiles aux acteurs du terrain. Un troisième groupe avait pour mission de produire des documents de réflexion et de diffusion.
Enfin, un quatrième groupe s’est penché sur le développement professoral, notamment dans les facultés de médecine qui ne disposaient pas encore de programme de médecine familiale. Cette conférence a donc permis de structurer le travail collaboratif et de confirmer le rôle clé des départements universitaires dans le développement mondial de la discipline.
La première conférence a surtout servi à poser les bases du projet. Elle visait à définir une vision commune, une mission et des priorités stratégiques pour renforcer la médecine familiale dans le monde, en priorité les pays à faible ou moyen revenu.
Cinq grandes priorités en sont ressorties : faire de la médecine familiale un élément central, viable et efficace des systèmes nationaux de santé ; renforcer la formation continue et les connaissances des médecins de famille ; encourager l’agrément et la certification ; soutenir le développement des facultés de médecine ; et favoriser la production de connaissances permettant de mesurer l’impact de la médecine familiale sur la santé. Cette première conférence a donc joué un rôle fondateur en fixant le cadre intellectuel et stratégique de l’initiative.
