Harvard Chan Forum on Syrian Humanitarian Crisis

Featuring Jennifer Leaning, Director of the FXB Center

The Zataari refugee camp for displaced Syrians in Jordan. Photograph by Warda Toma.
The Zataari refugee camp for displaced Syrians in Jordan. Photograph by Warda Toma.

The Harvard School of Public Health hosted a live Forum event on the Humanitarian Crisis in Syria on Wednesday, October 16, from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. Jennifer Leaning, FXB Center Director (and Co-Founder of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative), served as an expert participant, joining Paul Spiegel, Deputy Director of the Division of Programme Support and Management at United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; Michael VanRooyen, Founder and Director of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative; Recep Akdag, the former Minister of Health for Turkey; and Jeanne Guillemin, Senior Advisor for the MIT Security Studies Program.

As the conflict in Syria continues to unfold, the gravity and scale of the subsequent humanitarian crisis has become apparent. Over two million Syrians have fled into neighboring countries and millions more remain displaced within Syria’s borders. The world is watching as international inspectors begin to dismantle Syria’s cache of chemical weapons, yet the violence wears on.

This Forum event, hosted in collaboration with PRI’s The World and WGBH, examined the decision-making and practicalities behind the ongoing humanitarian response in Syria. Click here for the full video of the discussion.