Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Weeks

Session title: Scaling Health Innovations in Emergencies

Organizer(s): Grand Challenges Canada

10 Mar 26 16:00-17:30 UTC+1 (Salle 2)

SessionAbstract

Subtitle: The role of partnerships in supporting MNH and scaling health Innovations in humanitarian settings

Amid escalating global crises and reduced funding, humanitarian organisations are under increasing pressure to continue to deliver high-impact health interventions in emergency response. This panel will explore how health innovations can scale more effectively to meet health needs in humanitarian crises.

The focus will be on the importance of building value networks for scaling, particularly partnerships with multilaterals, governments and the private sector. It will explore what we are learning about the importance of such partnerships when it comes to scaling health innovations in humanitarian settings, particularly in the area of Maternal and Newborn Health.

The session will have introductory remarks from HRH Princess Sarah Zeid of Jordan on Maternal and Newborn Health in crisis settings, before hearing from panellists who are all in the process of scaling health innovations, including from those that are having an impact on Maternal and Newborn Health in humanitarian settings. They will bring practical insights on what the tensions are within such partnerships, and what works in navigating these tensions to create scalable solutions.

Agenda

Welcome: Grand Challenges Canada + Gray Dot Catalyst

Opening Remarks: Her Royal Highness Princess Sarah Zeid of Jordan

Panel Discussion: Sikander Khan (Sehat Kahani), Khalid Hashi (Ogow Health), James Roberts (MoM Incubators), Adrian Connelly (MENTOR Initiative)

Speakers

H.R.H Princess Sarah Zeid

H.R.H. Princess Sarah Zeid is an advocate for women’s, newborn, child and adolescent health, nutrition and wellbeing in humanitarian and fragile settings.

As Special Advisor to the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator’s Special Initiative on Maternal &Newborn Health in Crisis (2025-2027), Princess Sarah champions efforts to reduce preventable maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity in fragile and humanitarian settings.

As Special Advisor to the World Food Programme (WFP) on Maternal & Child Health and Nutrition, UNHCR Patron for Maternal & Newborn Health (2018-2024) and Convener of the Roadmap to Accelerate Progress for Every Newborn in Humanitarian Settings 2020-2025, Princess Sarah supported efforts to reduce maternal, child and newborn mortality and morbidity, and championed the health, wellbeing, empowerment and contribution of girls and women in fragile and humanitarian settings.

Princess Sarah led Every Woman Every Child Everywhere, an unprecedented globalmulti-stakeholder movement to integrate humanitarian and fragile settings in the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health, a roadmap adopted in 2016 by the World Health Assembly to end preventable deaths of women, children and adolescents by 2030.

Princess Sarah is a member of the Executive Board of The New Humanitarian, the Johns Hopkins University Center for Humanitarian Health Advisory Committee, and an Ambassador for Made by Dyslexia

Mr Sikander Khan, Sehat Kahani

Sikander Khan is the Finance & Investments Lead at Sehat Kahani. A Chartered Certified Accountant with an experience of more than 10 years in Finance & Accounting, Investments, Research, Public and Private Markets, working towards scalable and sustainable growth of Health Care Innovation across Pakistan and beyond.