Dear Members of the School of Public Health Community,

As an urgent public health crisis unfolds in Gaza and suffering continues in Israel and the region, we are hearing from students, staff, faculty, and alumni who are concerned about the increasingly dire humanitarian impact of the war. At the heart of these conversations is the question: What can we, as a community committed to improving the health and well-being of all populations, do that lives up to our mission and contributes to meeting these challenges?

Witnessing the suffering and desperation amidst the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict is devastating. I have been deeply concerned about the health and well-being of the people affected by the violence and destruction, and about the difficult days that lie ahead.

As a School of Public Health, our core mission is to educate and bring evidence and science to the public health challenges facing the world. We are focusing on that core mission, recognizing there are many important issues to be addressed by others to resolve the deep and historic conflicts in the Middle East.

Over the coming weeks and months, we will be hosting a series of conversations on the public health crisis in the Middle East. As part of that effort, we are developing programming to build an understanding of the health implications of conflict and how health systems can be effectively and rapidly rebuilt in post-conflict zones, drawing on expertise both at SPH and around the world. We are in conversations with a broad group of experts and practitioners and will announce details when dates are confirmed. All members of our community will receive an invitation to join the conversations and I hope that many of you will be able to participate.

I want to thank all the members of our community who have shared with me and our school leadership their thoughts and concerns in recent weeks and months. I feel strongly that hearing from our students, faculty, and staff is essential at this moment. We need to be a community that can speak honestly and openly about hard issues, speak respectfully and listen respectfully with empathy, even when we disagree.

With our Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, we are also developing additional programming to continue to create spaces for reflection on how this public health crisis affects each of us here at home, and how we can stay resilient and engaged.

I look forward to your partnership, and your ongoing feedback and insights as we move these efforts forward.

Sincerely,