Human Rights in Hard Places: Lessons from Haiti and Beyond

Overview

This panel explores how the struggle for human rights takes place in fragile and crisis-affected contexts, places where political instability, violence and poverty intersect with health emergencies and humanitarian challenges. From Haiti to Sudan, Gaza, and other “Hard Places,” millions live where the most basic human rights are under constant threat. In these contexts, health, the foundation of dignity, is often the first casualty of instability.

Using Haiti as a central case study, the discussion will link local realities to global patterns observed in other “Hard Places”. It will examine how public health, human rights, and communication intersect in fragile settings, and how the protection of health becomes both a moral imperative and a measure of justice.

With Haiti as a starting point, panelists will draw lessons for global solidarity, accountability, and action. The session will connect frontline experiences with policy and narrative, asking: How can we protect human rights when institutions collapse, and how can global health become an engine for justice?

Objectives

• Explore the meaning of human rights in fragile and crisis-affected settings
• Highlight the intersection between global health and human rights.
• Examine Haiti's experience as a lens for understanding global challenges
• Discuss accountability mechanisms for protecting civilians and health workers
• Reflect on the power of communication to make invisible struggles visible.
• Identify lessons and pathways for strengthening global solidarity and justice.

Expected Outcomes

• Better understanding of the links between human rights, health, and communication in fragile contexts around the world.
• Identification of common challenges and responses in Haiti and other conflict-affected regions.
• Foundations for future collaboration on advancing human rights, health, and justice initiatives in crisis and post-crisis settings.

Speakers

Dr. Louise Ivers is the Executive Director of the Center for Global Health and the David Bangsberg MD, MPH Endowed Chair in Global Health Equity at Mass General Hospital. She is the Director of the Harvard Global Health Institute and a Professor of Medicine and Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ivers is a practicing physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Mass General. She works on the design, implementation, and evaluation of large-scale public health programs in resource-limited settings with the goal of achieving health equity.

Katilla Pierre is an epidemiologist working as head of alert and response at the Directorate of Epidemiology Laboratories and Research of Haiti's Ministry of Public Health and Population. She has worked in this position for more than 10 years, with a focus on the emergence or reemergence of such infectious diseases as cholera, COVID-19, etc. Her work also covers the management of health emergencies. She has extensive experience in HIV disease management.

Achiro P. Olwoch

Achiro Patricia Olwoch is an award-winning writer, director, and producer from Gulu in Northern Uganda, currently living in exile in New York. She is a Visiting Scholar and Instructor at Vassar College, where she teaches courses in playwriting and postcolonial drama. A former Weiss International Fellow and Scholar at Risk at Barnard College (2023–2024), Achiro has received

numerous accolades for her groundbreaking work, including the TV series Coffee Shop (creator/writer), Yat Madit (head writer), and acclaimed short films The Surrogate, The Mineral Basket, and MarayaNi. Her creative work bridges history and contemporary struggle.

Alicia E. Yamin is a Lecturer on Law and the Director of the Global Health and Rights Project at the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics at Harvard Law School and Adjunct Senior Lecturer on Health Policy and Management at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.