November 20, 2025
12:00PM-1:00PM ET
Event type: Live online
UPCOMING EVENT
Aid shift: Standing up for global health in a time of turmoil
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams have decades of experience responding to all kinds of emergencies, from wars to disease outbreaks to natural disasters. But 2025 brought an unprecedented catastrophe caused by policy changes and massive cuts to international humanitarian aid by the United States government and other donors. This seismic shift has shaken the aid sector and the communities we assist.
Join us on Thursday, November 20, at 12:00pm ET for a live webcast event exploring how slashed aid funding is impacting people around the world. MSF is not directly affected by these cuts, as we do not accept any US government funding and rely on generous support from independent donors. However, we work hand in hand with many local and international organizations that have been forced to scale back or halt activities altogether.
Our teams are bearing witness to the consequences on the ground: people losing access to care at local clinics, vaccination campaigns disrupted, medications out of stock, and clean drinking water in short supply.
MSF remains committed to providing medical humanitarian aid where it’s needed most—but we can’t do it alone. Together, we’ll discuss how we’re adapting to the stark new realities.
Meet the speakers
Dr. Javid Abdelmoneim
Dr. Javid Abdelmoneim is an emergency medicine doctor and international president of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Javid first joined MSF in 2009 as an emergency doctor in Iraq and went on to work with MSF in various medical and coordination roles in Haiti, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Syria, Chad, Ukraine, UK, in Mediterranean search and rescue, and in Sierra Leone during the West Africa Ebola epidemic. His most recent medical work with MSF has been in Palestine and Sudan. Javid served on the board of MSF UK from May 2015 and was appointed its president in 2017, a role he held until 2021. Outside of medical roles and his time with MSF, he is also an experienced television presenter, having been nominated for both Emmy and BAFTA awards for his work on science documentary and health entertainment series which have appeared on Netflix, BBC, HBO, Channel 4, and Al Jazeera English.
Diana Manilla Arroyo
Diana Manilla Arroyo is MSF's head of mission in Haiti. Since joining MSF in 2018 as an activity implementer for sexual violence programs in Myanmar, she has worked in various MSF projects as a project coordinator, deputy head of mission, and head of mission in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Yemen, Iraq, and Haiti. In addition to her work with MSF, she has also served as a public health in emergencies officer for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva. Prior to her roles in MSF, she worked internationally with Save the Children and All Hands and Hearts. Diana holds a Master of Science in international public health from University College London and a bachelor’s degree in international development from the University of Liverpool. She also completed an Executive Short Course in Sexual and Reproductive Health in Humanitarian Crises at the Geneva Centre of Humanitarian Studies.
Dr. Brennan Bollman
Dr. Brennan Bollman is an emergency physician with MSF and currently serves as the medical activity manager in MSF’s project in Central African Republic (CAR). Prior to her current assignment, Brennan was an ER doctor for MSF projects in Peru, Haiti, and Palestine. Outside of her international work, Brennan is an assistant clinical professor of emergency medicine at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center and an attending physician at Lincoln Medical Center, one of New York City's busiest trauma hospitals. Brennan's academic interests are in health and human rights, humanitarian response, and advocacy. Brennan received a master’s degree in public health from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. She is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Harvard Medical School. She completed her residency training at the Louisiana State University’s Spirit of Charity Emergency Medicine Residency Program in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Kavita Menon
Kavita Menon is the chief communications officer for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières in the United States (MSF USA). She manages the editorial, media, and public engagement teams. She joined MSF USA in 2017 as the editorial director, overseeing the creation and curation of stories about our medical projects for the organization's digital and print platforms. Prior to MSF, Kavita was the head of communications in North America for the International Crisis Group. She spent many years working as a press freedom advocate with the Committee to Protect Journalists, including as the Asia program coordinator and later senior program officer. She also has experience as a human rights researcher and campaigner on South Asia for Amnesty International. Kavita has done reporting, advocacy, and outreach work in India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Thailand. She has contributed to news media including the Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, International Herald Tribune, Ms. magazine, National Public Radio, and WNYC.
