Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Health and peace are closely linked. Conflict disrupts health systems, damages infrastructure, and forces health workers to leave. It also increases the risk of epidemics, hunger, and long-term psychological harm. These impacts threaten lives and weaken the foundations needed for sustainable development.
This session explores how health can contribute to peace, and how peace can strengthen health systems. It highlights the importance of community engagement in the design and delivery of healthcare. When communities trust and support health services, they help protect access to care, even in unstable environments. This can create space for health workers to reach people who are otherwise difficult to support.
Speakers examine how global health initiatives, including WHO’s Global Health and Peace Initiative, advance this agenda. They also discuss how conflict intensifies the risks addressed in Sustainable Development Goal 3 and why integrating peace considerations into health policy is essential. The session brings together experts who share practical insights from humanitarian work, policy development, and research.
Contributions come from Amirhossein Takian (TUMS), Petra Khoury (IFRC), Katrín Jakobsdóttir (Government of Iceland), Kumanan Rasanathan (AHPSR), Elsara Badri (GAWCH), and Parnian Parvanta (MSF). Their perspectives highlight how health and peace reinforce one another and why cooperation is vital in times of crisis.
The World Health Summit is the leading global platform bringing together science, politics, civil society, and the private sector to catalyze collaborative and innovative solutions for key health priorities. Learn more at www.worldhealthsummit.org.
Health and peace are closely linked. Conflict disrupts health systems, damages infrastructure, and forces health workers to leave. It also increases the risk of epidemics, hunger, and long-term psychological harm. These impacts threaten lives and weaken the foundations needed for sustainable development.
This session explores how health can contribute to peace, and how peace can strengthen health systems. It highlights the importance of community engagement in the design and delivery of healthcare. When communities trust and support health services, they help protect access to care, even in unstable environments. This can create space for health workers to reach people who are otherwise difficult to support.
Speakers examine how global health initiatives, including WHO’s Global Health and Peace Initiative, advance this agenda. They also discuss how conflict intensifies the risks addressed in Sustainable Development Goal 3 and why integrating peace considerations into health policy is essential. The session brings together experts who share practical insights from humanitarian work, policy development, and research.
Contributions come from Amirhossein Takian (TUMS), Petra Khoury (IFRC), Katrín Jakobsdóttir (Government of Iceland), Kumanan Rasanathan (AHPSR), Elsara Badri (GAWCH), and Parnian Parvanta (MSF). Their perspectives highlight how health and peace reinforce one another and why cooperation is vital in times of crisis.
The World Health Summit is the leading global platform bringing together science, politics, civil society, and the private sector to catalyze collaborative and innovative solutions for key health priorities. Learn more at www.worldhealthsummit.org.
