#  The Current State of Humanitarian Aid 

 



####  calendar\_today Date and Time 

 **March 3, 2025** 

 01:00PM - 02:00PM EST 

 



 



 

Join the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative for a discussion on the current state of humanitarian aid. This discussion will explore the implications of the United States Government executive orders issued on January 24, 2025 that paused nearly all U.S. foreign aid for 90 days. This abrupt halt placed millions of people around the world at risk and compounded existing humanitarian emergencies. In addition, the discussion will address the health, diplomacy, security, and mortality risks caused by the cessation of critical foreign aid and examine the shift in the role of the United States as a global humanitarian leader as a result of the 90-day freeze in funding.

## **Speaker**

[**Michael VanRooyen, MD, MPH**](https://hhi.harvard.edu/people/michael-vanrooyen)  
*Director, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative*

Dr. Michael VanRooyen is the founding director of [Harvard Humanitarian Initiative](https://hhi.harvard.edu./) (HHI), an interfaculty initiative at Harvard University dedicated to advancing evidence and professional development in humanitarian assistance. He has led complex humanitarian operations with numerous relief organizations in more than thirty countries affected by conflict and disaster, including Somalia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda, Iraq, North Korea, Sudan–Darfur, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Palestine, and Ukraine. He has worked internationally as a humanitarian and leadership expert with several nongovernmental organizations, including CARE, Save the Children, Oxfam, and Physicians for Human Rights. In 2012, Dr. VanRooyen founded the Humanitarian Academy at Harvard to advance professional development for humanitarian leaders globally. Dr. VanRooyen is the Chair of Emergency Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital and at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, as well as the Enterprise Chief of Emergency Medicine for the Mass General Brigham health system.

## **Moderator** 

[**Irini Albanti, DrPH, MPH, MA**](https://hhi.harvard.edu/people/irini-albanti)  
*Executive Director, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative*

Dr. Irini Albanti is the Executive Director at [Harvard Humanitarian Initiative](https://hhi.harvard.edu./) (HHI), a Lecturer in the Department of Health Policy and Management at [Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health](https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/), and a Lecturer of Emergency Medicine at [Harvard Medical School](https://hms.harvard.edu/). She develops strategies to execute HHI’s mission and amplify its social impact. She leads the strategic, operational, financial, and administrative management of HHI and oversees programs in humanitarian research and education. She is a purpose-driven leader committed to social impact and reducing health and social inequities globally by bridging public health, science, and business strategies. Since 2001, she has held leadership positions in the nonprofit, academic, and healthcare fields with a focus on strategy, operations, philanthropy, partnership building, stakeholder engagement, and impact measurement. Her personal motto is “feel like an NGO, run like a business” which reflects her entrepreneurial acumen and evidence-based, systematic approach to running an organization while inspired by its mission. She regularly collaborates with WHO and UN agencies, foundations, NGOs, donors, governments, corporations, hospitals, and other entities on advocacy, policy, and implementation of global health efforts.

### **Attendance Options:**

**In-person:** Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Kresge Building, Room 202  
*Open to the Harvard community. Registration is required. Lunch will be provided.*

**Online:** via Zoom  
*Open to the public. Registration is required.*

Register to attend: [hsph.me/currentstate](https://hsph.me/currentstate)

**Questions?** Email [**hhi@harvard.edu**](mailto:hhi@harvard.edu)

Our speakers have been invited to share their personal perspectives based on their own scholarship and experience; they do not speak for Harvard.



 

 



 

 

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