The MSF South Asia Health and Humanity Summit 2023 set the agenda for a paradigm shift in health and humanitarian considerations during emergencies in South and Southeast Asia. Over 15 practitioners, thought leaders, artists, and over 300 attendees from the social impact space convened to engage in discussions at the inaugural Summit. The themes of the discussions were ‘People Forced from Home’, ‘Equitable Access to Healthcare’, ‘Global Health Security’, and ‘Mis/Disinformation in Emergencies’. Through collaborative efforts, the Summit shed light on contemporary challenges and potential solutions at the heart of these critical issues. The Summit included MSF’s Humanity Heals exhibition, an interactive photography, artwork and installation display featuring compelling stories of vulnerable populations.
AGENDA
Registration
Exhibition Opening
Opening Remarks
Health and Humanitarian Challenges
Dr Farhat Mantoo, Executive Director, MSF South Asia
Keynote Address
Inequality is bad for your health
P. Sainath, Author, Veteran Journalist
Session 1
Forced from Home: Humanitarian Considerations for Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Migrants
Roshni Shanker, Executive Director, Migration & Asylum Project
Rezaul Karim, Programme Head, Humanitarian Crisis Management Programme, BRAC
Jolene Anthony Dass, Humanitarian Affairs Manager, MSF Malaysia
Dr Parivelan K.M., Associate Professor, Center of Statelessness and Refugee Studies, School of Law, Rights and Constitutional Governance, TISS
Moderator: Vidya Krishnan, Journalist, Former Health-Editor, The Hindu
TEA BREAK
Session 2
How COVID has shaped Justice and Equity for Access to Treatment
K.M. Gopakumar, Senior Researcher and Legal Advisor at Third World Network
Dr Brinelle D’Souza, National Programme Director, TISS
Giten Khwairakpam, Community and Policy Program Manager, TREAT Asia programme, amfAR
Moderator: Leena Menghaney, Regional Head, MSF Access Campaign
LUNCH
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
Session 3
Bracing for Impact: Health and Humanitarian Responses in the Context of "security threats"
Elizabeth Willetts, Planetary Health Policy Director, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Benjamin Mason Meier, Professor of Global Health Policy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Senior Scholar, O’Neill Institute for National & Global Health Law
Nishant Sirohi, Health & Human Rights Fellow at the Geneva Health Files
Moderator: Dr Maria Guevara, International Medical Secretary, MSF
TEA BREAK
Session 4
Past is prologue: Building Community Resilience to Combat Mis/Disinformation in Emergencies
Tina Purnat, Health Information and Infodemic Manager, WHO
Osama Manzar, Executive Director, Digital Empowerment Foundation
Shalini Joshi, Director, Meedan & Co-founder Khabar Lahariya
Moderator: Divya Pushkarna, Disinformation Advisor, MSF
Closing Remarks
Ambassador Vijay Nambiar, Retired Indian Diplomat who served as Chief de Cabinet under UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon 2007-2012