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
| 11:00–11:05 Welcome Dr. Richard Horton and Dr. Ana Mateus, The Lancet (online) |
| 11:05–11:25 Presentation of the Commission’s report by Prof. Paul Spiegel, Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health |
| 11:25–11:35 Keynote speech by Mr. David Miliband, President and CEO, International Rescue Committee (IRC) |
| 11:35–12:15 Panel 1: Commissioners and Next Generation Scholars Chaired by Prof. Daniel Maxwell, Professor Emeritus, Tufts University Dr. Orit Abrahim, General Surgery Resident at Massachusetts General Hospital and Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School Mr. Moumini Niaoné, Medical doctor and founding Executive Director of Pull for Progress Dr. Chiara Altare, Associate Research Professor in the Department of International Health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health Dr. Joanne Liu, Canadian practicing paediatric emergency physician at University of Montreal and professor at McGill University’s School of Population & Global Health |
| 12:15–13:00 Panel 2: Expert perspectives Chaired by Prof. Paul Spiegel Mr. Jeremy Konyndyk, President, Refugees International Dr. Valerie Bemo, Deputy Director, Emergency Response, Gates Foundation Ms. Hanin Ahmed, Sudanese Activist & Emergency Response Room Leader, Sudan Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs) Ms. Hibak Kalfan, Executive Director of the Network for Empowered Aid Response (NEAR) Ms. Ella Watson-Stryker, Humanitarian Affairs Officer, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Dr. Ciro Ugarte, Director, Health Emergencies, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) |
| 13:00–14:00 Reception |
This event is hosted by the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health (CHH).