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
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, brought together Commission members, policymakers, and practitioners to explore the report’s key findings and implications. The event offered 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.
Programme and registration
| 11:00–11:05 Welcome Dr. Richard Horton and Dr. Ana Mateus, The Lancet (online) (View video recording) |
| 11:05–11:25 Presentation of the Commission’s report by Prof. Paul Spiegel, Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health (View video recording) |
| 11:25–11:35 Keynote speech by Mr. David Miliband, President and CEO, International Rescue Committee (IRC) (View video recording) |
| 11:35–12:15 Panel 1: Commissioners and Next Generation Scholars (View video recording) Chaired by Prof. Daniel Maxwell, Professor Emeritus, Tufts University Mr. Moumini Niaoné, Medical doctor and founding Executive Director of Pull for Progress Dr. Orit Abrahim, General Surgery Resident at Massachusetts General Hospital and a Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School Dr. Joanne Liu, Canadian practicing paediatric emergency physician at University of Montreal and Professor at McGill University’s School of Population & Global Health Dr. Chiara Altare, Associate Research Professor in the Department of International Health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health |
| 12:15–13:00 Panel 2: Expert perspectives (View video recording) Chaired by Prof. Paul Spiegel Ms. Hanin Ahmed, Sudanese Activist & Emergency Response Room Leader, Sudan Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs) Mr. Jeremy Konyndyk, President, Refugees International Dr. Valerie Bemo, Deputy Director, Emergency Response, Gates Foundation Ms. Hibak Kalfan, Executive Director of the Network for Empowered Aid Response (NEAR) Dr. Ciro Ugarte, Director, Health Emergencies, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) |
| 13:00–14:00 Reception |
Resources
View video recordings of the event:
🎥 Opening, report presentation by Paul Spiegel and keynote by David Miliband
🎥 Panel 1 — Commissioners and Next Generation Scholars
🎥 Panel 2 — Expert perspectives and closing
Presentation: