What makes care possible? Protection, trust, and solidarity in global health
Join the Department of Global Health and Population for this Brown Bag Seminar featuring Christos Christou, former international president of MSF and visiting scholar at Harvard Humanitarian Initiative.
Seminar description
Drawing on experiences from humanitarian crises, conflict settings, and epidemic response, this talk explores three conditions that make care possible: the protection of patients and health workers, trust in science and the institutions that deliver care, and solidarity in responding to needs that transcend borders. Through selected cases, Christos Christou will reflect on what happens when these conditions erode and why defending them is essential to defending humanity itself.
Speaker bio
Christos Christou, MSc, PhD, is a surgeon and humanitarian leader who served as international president of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) from 2019 to 2025. He joined MSF early in his medical career and has worked in humanitarian settings affected by conflict, displacement, epidemics, and limited access to health care. As international president, he led MSF through the COVID-19 pandemic and major humanitarian crises, while advocating for the protection of civilians and health workers, equitable access to health care, and respect for international humanitarian law.
Christos trained in general and trauma surgery in Greece and the United Kingdom and has worked as a consultant in emergency and colorectal surgery in the NHS. He is currently a visiting scientist at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. His academic and teaching interests include humanitarian leadership, trust within communities, health in conflicts, and the protection of medical care. He also contributes to advisory initiatives in global and humanitarian health.
Christos holds a PhD in surgery, an MSc in international health and health crisis management, and the European Board of Surgery Qualification in Coloproctology. In 2025, he was named to the TIME100 list of the world’s most influential leaders shaping the future of philanthropy.
Speaker Information
Christos Christou
Organizers
ⓘ Harvard Chan School hosts a diverse array of speakers, invited to share both scholarly research and personal perspectives. They do not speak for the School, and hosting them does not imply endorsement of their views, organizations, or employers.