|
Why This Matters?

Global crises are growing more complex, and the communities bearing the greatest burden can't afford to wait. As donor priorities shift and instability rises, the gap between humanitarian response and sustainable, community-led health systems has never been more urgent to close.
On April 30, 2026, CORE Group convenes a landmark hybrid session to officially launch the Humanitarian Health Working Group (HHWG) — a bold step toward moving beyond traditional relief models and building the resilient, community-centered health architecture the world needs. This convening brings together government officials, multilateral donors, implementing partners, and frontline health leaders to define a roadmap for sustained health delivery in the world's most fragile settings.

Featuring distinguished speakers from Kenya and around the world, this convening will spotlight community-centered approaches, emerging challenges, and innovative solutions in complex and crisis-affected settings, including ensuring continuity of maternal and newborn care in humanitarian and crisis contexts, strengthening service delivery in fragile states, and the evolving role of digital health and AI in emergency response. Speakers will draw on frontline experience from the Ministry of Health in Kenya, the International Rescue Committee, the World Bank, and the MOMENTUM Integrated Health Resilience project to share what is working, what needs to change, and where the greatest opportunities for collective action lie.
Attendees will hear opening remarks from Lisa Hilmi, Executive Director of CORE Group. The convening will be moderated by Dr. Cecilliah Mbaka, a medical doctor and humanitarian health leader at CARE, and Ricardo Echalar, an infectious disease epidemiologist with over 20 years of experience in humanitarian and emergency health preparedness and response, both serving as co-chairs of the newly relaunched Humanitarian Health Working Group.
Meet Our Speakers:
-
Janette Karimi: Maternal & Newborn Health Focal Person, Ministry of Health, Kenya
-
Linda Mobula: Senior Health Specialist, World Bank
-
Sarah Mtonya: Deputy Director, Health, International Rescue Committee
-
Joseph Obure: MIHR Senior Technical Director, MOMENTUM Integrated Health Resilience (MIHR)
Additional speakers to be announced.
| 
