North America Launch of the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health–Lancet Commission Report

Health in a World of Crises and Impunity

Date: Tuesday, 2 June 2026
Time: 11:00am–1:00pm (Washington, DC time), followed by a reception (1:00–2:00pm)
Location: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Center, 555 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001
Format: In-person, livestream available

At a time of escalating conflicts, rising displacement, shrinking resources, and increasing impunity, the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health–Lancet Commission on Health, Conflict and Forced Displacement calls for a fundamental shift in how the humanitarian sector operates. Its report, Health in a World of Crises and Impunity, sets out bold and practical recommendations to rethink how humanitarian health responses are designed, governed, and delivered in some of the world’s most challenging settings.

This North America launch, hosted at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Center in Washington, DC, will bring together Commission members, policymakers, and practitioners to explore the report’s key findings and implications. The event offers an opportunity to engage directly with leading experts and reflect on what is needed to reshape humanitarian health policy and practice in the years ahead. The discussion will be followed by a reception.

Programme and registration

11:00–11:10 Welcome
Dr. Richard Horton and Dr. Ana Mateus, The Lancet (online)
11:10–11:30 Presentation of the Commission’s report
by Prof. Paul Spiegel, Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health
11:30–12:15 Panel 1: Commissioners and Next Generation Scholars
 Chaired by Prof. Daniel  Maxwell, Tufts University
   Dr. Orit Abrahim
   Mr. Moumini Niaoné
   Dr. Chiara Altare
   Dr. Joanne Liu
12:15–13:00 Panel 2: Expert perspectives
Chaired by Prof. Paul Spiegel
   Mr. Jeremy Konyndyk, Refugees International
   Dr. Valerie Bemo or Mr. Jason Chau, Gates Foundation
   Ms. Hanin Ahmed, Sudan Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs)
   Ms. Hibak Kalfan, NEAR Network
   Ms. Ella Watson-Stryker, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
   Dr. Ciro Ugarte, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
13:00–14:00 Reception

This event is hosted by the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health (CHH).