Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health

05/29/2026

As Ebola cases continue to rise in and , global health experts are working to contain an outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain, which has no approved vaccine or targeted treatment.

In this Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health feature, experts discuss the challenges of responding in a region affected by conflict, displacement, and fragile health systems.

Paul B. Spiegel, Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health, notes that authorities in the DRC and Uganda have decades of experience responding to Ebola outbreaks, while teams from Africa CDC, WHO, and the U.S. CDC are actively supporting response efforts on the ground.

The outbreak also underscores a key focus of the CHH-Lancet Commission on Health, Conflict, and Forced Displacement on Health, Conflict, and Forced Displacement: health crises do not occur in isolation. Conflict, population displacement, weak health systems, and infectious disease outbreaks are increasingly interconnected, requiring coordinated and sustained responses.

The risk to Americans right now is low, but sweeping cuts to public health infrastructure present challenges to handling infectious disease threats at home and abroad

05/29/2026

Are you ready to join us on Tue Jun 2 in Wash DC
at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Center for the CHH-Lancet Commission launch?

Watch this video, where the Chair of the Commission - Professor Paul Spiegel discusses what the Commission is and what are the key recommendations.

Go to our webpage to hear other voices and learn about the Jun 2 Wash DC launch and other future launches.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WmnCYift52o

Paul B. Spiegel
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Read the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health–Lancet Commission on health, conflict, and forced displacement here:www.thelancet.com/commissions-do/co...

05/29/2026

A new article in The Atlantic examines the international response to the growing Ebola outbreak in DRC and Uganda, including the implications of changes in U.S. global health engagement.

CHH's Director Paul B. Spiegel noted that the U.S. State Department has begun rebuilding some humanitarian response capacity, including establishing a Bureau of Disaster and Humanitarian Response and reconstituting Disaster Assistance Response Teams. However, as he said elsewhere, the loss of so many US public health experts, particularly at CDC who had so much Ebola expertise and experience, is likely negatively affecting the overall response.

The outbreak also highlights challenges that extend beyond Ebola itself. Disease outbreaks increasingly occur in settings affected by conflict, displacement, political instability, and weakened health systems.

These issues are central to the work of the CHH-Lancet Commission on Health, Conflict, and Forced Displacement - which is examining how the international community can better address the interconnected challenges facing populations affected by crisis.

As the Commission has highlighted, health threats cannot be viewed in isolation from the broader humanitarian and political environments in which they occur.

Paul B. Spiegel
Johns Hopkins Department of International Health

By responding to this outbreak independently, the U.S. is showing the limits of that approach.

05/28/2026

America’s efforts to keep people sheltered have largely failed to move past centuries-old laws and attitudes.

05/21/2026

A new report in The Lancet highlights concerns that gaps and inconsistencies in global aid systems may be contributing to preventable loss of life.

Dr. Paul B. Spiegel, Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health and Chair of the CHH–Lancet Commission on Health, Conflict, and Forced Displacement, noted in Middle East Eye that while efforts to improve efficiency in aid are important, the way reforms are implemented can have significant implications for vulnerable populations.

The report examines how funding structures, shifting global priorities, and system-level constraints may be affecting the delivery of humanitarian assistance worldwide.

Read more here:

A new report in The Lancet suggests millions of people are left to die when aid systems are guided by the whims of politicians

05/21/2026

Check out the lastet episode of The CommonHealth, the CSIS Global Health Policy Center with featured guest Dr. Paul B. Spiegel, Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health, to discuss the genesis, mission, and innovations of the Lancet Commission on health.

On May 20, Professor Paul Spiegel presents in Geneva the report of the Lancet Commission on health, conflict and forced displacement, conducted in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health (CHH).

05/21/2026

The CHH-Lancet Commission on Health, Conflict, and Forced Displacement released a major new report examining the future of humanitarian health response.

In an interview with CNN Connect the World, Dr. Paul B. Spiegel and Dr. Esperanza Martinez discuss why the current Ebola outbreak is a reminder that health crises in fragile and conflict-affected settings can quickly become regional and global concerns.

Among the report’s findings:
• 239 million people are projected to need humanitarian assistance in 2026
• Aid is currently being rationed to just 87 million people
• Attacks on healthcare workers continue to rise in conflict zones

The Commission calls for structural reform, stronger accountability, and greater investment in local leadership and health systems.

Watch discussion here: https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/20/world/video/ebola-lancet-spiegel-martinez-intv-ctw-052010aseg2-cnni-world-fast

W.H.O.: Ebola outbreaks in the DRC and Uganda pose a high risk in East Africa. Becky Anderson spoke to Dr. Paul Spiegel and Dr. Esperanza Martinez, co-chairs of the Lancet Commission on Health, Conflict and Forced Displacement.

05/20/2026

“There needs to be a significant change – a transformation,” Paul B. Spiegel, the CHH-Lancet Commission on Health, Conflict, and Forced Displacement’s chair and director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health, said in an interview before the 20 May launch. “The most important part would be [to] invert the power, which really means to ensure that the affected populations, the local and national authorities, and the local and national NGOs really are running the show.”

Read in The New Humanitarian:

Ideas to revamp humanitarian aid: New principles, independent financing, a single UN agency, a smaller footprint, and oversight with teeth to enforce.

05/20/2026

A new report from the CHH-Lancet Commission on Health, Conflict, and Forced Displacement establishes a new blueprint for humanitarian health, including giving more agency to impacted communities.

Paul B. Spiegel, director of Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health and chair of the commission, speaks with Joshua Sharfstein, detailing the fundamentals of the report and the dire need for a more effective approach to helping people in desperate need at a time of escalating conflict.

Listen here :

About this episode: A new report from the CHH-Lancet Commission on Health, Conflict, and Forced Displacement establishes a new blueprint for humanitarian health, including giving more agency to impacted communities. In this episode: Dr. Paul Spiegel, chair of the commission, details the fundame...

05/20/2026

Five findings from a landmark report on health, conflict, and forced displacement. The CHH–Lancet Commission’s Health in a World of Crises and Impunity sets out what a fit-for-purpose humanitarian system would look like — and why incremental reform is dangerous.

Swipe through five findings that reveal why
transforming the humanitarian system can no longer wait.

Read the report: healthconflictcommission.org/the-report

05/20/2026

🎓 Congratulations to the Class of 2026!

Today, we celebrate the dedication, resilience, and compassion of our graduates. Through their studies, research, and service, they have prepared to address some of the world's most pressing humanitarian health challenges.

As you embark on your next chapter, we are confident that you will continue to advance health, dignity, and equity in communities around the globe.

From all of us at the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health , congratulations on this remarkable achievement. We wish you every success in the years ahead and look forward to seeing the impact you will make.