Understanding Public Health in Conflict Zones
Thursday, June 20, 2024 | 12:00 - 1:00 pm | Virtual
About the Event
This timely event will feature firsthand insights and provide a raw and unfiltered view of the on-the-ground realities of providing care in a conflict zone, including the strains on local health systems. During this event, we will also explore the broader geopolitical contexts, diplomatic efforts, and the multifaceted regional impacts of war.
Join us for a thought-provoking event where we delve into the intricate connections between armed conflict and public health and explore the human toll of war, its impact on health systems, and the diplomatic avenues to address these complex challenges.
Speakers
Leonard Rubenstein
Leonard Rubenstein is Distinguished Professor of the Practice at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Interim Director of its Center for Public Health and Human Rights. He is also a core faculty member the Berman Institute of Bioethics and the Center for Humanitarian Health at Johns Hopkins University.
Prior to coming to Johns Hopkins, Professor Rubenstein was a Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace and before that President of Physicians for Human Rights. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the American Public Health Association’s Sidel-Levy Award for Peace. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University and Harvard Law School. He is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations and founded and chairs the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition. He is the author of Perilous Medicine: The Struggle to Protect Health Care from the Violence of War (Columbia University Press, 2021).
Katia Vieira de Moraes LaCasse
Katia is a pediatrician who leads the clinical team of Save the Children’s Emergency Health Unit as Senior Clinical Manager. She is originally from Brazil where she completed her medical training but has lived in Vermont for 5 years. Her work is dedicated to providing life-saving healthcare services to vulnerable communities affected by humanitarian crises. She is passionate about health equity, cultural sensitivity, and awareness; for which she advocates in every response. She has had the opportunity to work in many diverse contexts; Brazil, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Syria, Haiti, and Colombia (just to name a few) and every new experience has intensified her commitment to supporting access to healthcare for those who need it most.
Matthew Weinburke
Matthew has over 20+ years working in public health, public health education and training, and environmental health fields. Matthew holds a Doctorate in Public Health (DrPH). He retired from the US Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps in 2020. During his public health service career, he worked at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Yosemite National Park in California, the USPHS Headquarters in Maryland, and was deployed to Liberia in 2015 for the Ebola outbreak. Matthew currently serves as an independent public health consultant and teaches online as a faculty associate at Arizona State University. Matthew also served 10 years active-duty Navy including almost four years on the USS Carl Vinson completing several tours in the Persian Gulf as a Hospital Corpsman. He also served in the US Army and US Army Reserve for 10 years as a Medical Service Corp Officer and Environmental Science Officer.
Matthew holds a Master Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES®) certification and a California Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS) certification. Matthew volunteers his time with several organizations including the American Public Health Association (APHA), National Environmental Health Association (NEHA), California Environmental Health Association (CEHA), and the Red Cross Internal Humanitarian Law (IHL) program and the Service to Armed Forces (SAF) program. Matt lives with his family near Yosemite National Park in California and enjoys the outdoors and loves to hike and backpack.