Climate change is intensifying displacement, food insecurity, and health system fragility in crisis-affected settings, with climate hazards increasingly interacting with conflict dynamics to amplify health risks for vulnerable populations. This panel brings together early career researchers in epidemiology, data science, and evidence synthesis to explore how climate and conflict intersect to shape health outcomes in humanitarian contexts.
Presentations will examine climate-conflict-health associations across multiple regions, climate-sensitive infectious disease surveillance in humanitarian settings, and opportunities to integrate climate adaptation into humanitarian health programming. The session draws on geospatial analyses, mathematical modelling, qualitative research, and field experience across low- and middle-income countries.
Moderator
Michelle Gaffey, PhD
Michelle Gaffey is a Senior Research Manager at the SickKids Centre for Global Child Health and an Adjunct Lecturer at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, with graduate degrees in epidemiology and political economy of international development. She serves as an Associate Editor of the journal: Conflict and Health. Her current work focuses on maternal and child health in conflict- and climate-affected settings.
Panelists
Huma Qamar, MSc
Huma Qamar is a Data Scientist working at the SickKids Centre for Global Child Health. She holds a MSc in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Toronto and a MSc in Data Analytics from GeorgiaTech. Her current work focuses on understanding how climate variability and conflict interact to shape health outcomes, particularly in low- and middle-income countries
Ruwan Ratneyake, PhD, FETP
Ruwan Ratnayake is an Assistant Professor at McMaster University and an infectious disease epidemiologist and modeller specializing in public health in humanitarian crises. He holds a PhD in Epidemiology and Spatial and Mathematical Modelling from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (2024) and trained with the Canadian Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP). His current work focuses on cholera surveillance, disease control, and malnutrition in emergencies, with active projects in Sudan, Somalia, DRC, Zambia, and Ukraine. He brings extensive field experience from his work at IRC, MSF’s Epicentre, and WHO across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
Yasir Shafiq, MSc, PhD,
Yasir Shafiq is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the SickKids Centre for Global Child Health and a Lecturer at Aga Khan University. He holds a PhD in Global Health, Humanitarian Aid, and Disaster Medicine from CRIMEDIM at the Università del Piemonte Orientale in Italy. His current work focuses on maternal, neonatal, and child health at the intersection of gender, forced migration, and polycrisis, with a particular focus on displaced women and children. He has more than 20 years of experience spanning research, policy advocacy, and program implementation across underprivileged and conflict-affected settings worldwide.