He actively used social media to inform the public about the pandemic and healthcare crises in Lebanon, earning praise from Georges Dabar, medical affairs director at the private Hôtel-Dieu hospital.
L'Orient-Le Jour highlighted that it is unusual for a private institution to recognize a government hospital, which often faces criticism due to resource shortages.
[3] Christophe Martin, former head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Lebanon, lauded Abiad for successfully leading a partnership between RHUH and the ICRC to support vulnerable populations, including Syrian refugees.
Bassam Akoum, head of the medical personnel committee, criticized Abiad for neglecting employee welfare amid ongoing wage disputes that led to frequent strikes, while acknowledging the hospital's dire condition upon his arrival.
[3] Abiad received the title of "2020's Man of the Year" from the Arab Hospitals Federation (AHF), an independent, non-political NGO composed of nearly 500 members from 22 countries in the region.
[3] In 2021, Abiad assumed the role of Minister of Public Health during a time of severe deterioration in the Lebanese healthcare system, facing challenges such as medicine shortages, a brain drain of qualified personnel, and the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.