On April 26th, Brown University’s School of Public Health convened a panel discussion to address the escalating public health crisis in Gaza. The event brought together a group of experts with frontline experience to explore both immediate measures to protect civilians, and strategies to mitigate long-term impacts on the region’s public health infrastructure.
“Having these conversations is only part of it,” said Dr. Francesca Beaudoin, emergency physician and academic dean at the School of Public Health, during her opening remarks. “How do we act now while also preparing for future moments that will challenge the global community? Our mission is to improve the health of all populations, particularly the most vulnerable.”
Stefanie Friedhoff, co-director of the Information Futures Lab and associate professor of the practice of health services, policy and practice at Brown, highlighted the gravity of the crisis. “In just over six months, we’ve seen over 30,000 deaths, massive displacement and a health care system in ruins,” she said. “Behind these stark statistics are individuals—each with their own story and history. Today, we focus on our shared humanity.”
The panel featured:
- Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International and a former senior U.S. official experienced in leading international disaster responses, including in Sudan, Yemen and Kosovo.
- Danielle Poole Sc.D., MPH ’12, associate research scientist at the Yale Institute for Global Health, known for her rigorous evidence-based approach to humanitarian response.
- Dr. Mohammad Subeh, an emergency physician and ultrasound director at El Camino Hospital in California, with recent medical mission experience in Gaza.
- Ella Watson-Stryker, a humanitarian worker with Doctors Without Borders (MSF), recognized as a Time Person of the Year for her Ebola response efforts.
Dr. Subeh, who recently returned from a volunteer medical mission to the city of Rafah, described harrowing experiences performing surgeries in makeshift hospitals built from shipping containers. “Surprisingly, 65% of my patients were children. Time and again I heard, ‘I was playing outside and a drone came above my head and shot me,’ or, ‘We were gathering firewood and a drone came and shot us.’”
Subeh explained that the field hospital was ill-equipped, with just one tourniquet for about 1,000 new patients each day suffering from severe trauma. They lacked basic supplies such as rubbing alcohol, tylenol and ibuprofen, and essential resources like X-ray machines, ventilators and anesthesia.