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Katie Wierenga

Public Health Practitioner

United States of America

Katie Wierenga is a public health practitioner with over a decade of experience working at the intersection of health systems and conflict. She has worked extensively in Karen State, Myanmar, focusing on healthcare delivery in remote and under-resourced areas. Her roles have included coordinating medical supply chains, leading community health initiatives focused on WASH and childhood vaccines, and training local healthcare providers. From 2021 to 2023, she served as a consultant with the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, advising on public health strategy and humanitarian access during Myanmar’s ongoing civil conflict. Katie holds a Master’s in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University with a certificate in International Health. Currently she is completing Master’s degree in Physician Assistant Studies at Duke University. She is focusing on emergency medicine and ultrasound, skills she hopes to apply to her continued work in low-resource settings.
Starts 27 May 2025
16:00
CET
Online
Led by Katie Wierenga
Registration is Free
Registration Now Open

In regions affected by armed conflict, the connection between violence and poor health outcomes is often discussed. Yet while many stakeholders recognize the urgency of addressing healthcare needs in these settings, the full complexity of those needs—and how to respond effectively—is often less understood.

In this webinar, we’ll explore the intersection of health and conflict through the lens of firsthand experience working in the rural health system in Karen State, Myanmar. Using stakeholder mapping as a guiding tool, we’ll examine the practical challenges of delivering healthcare in one of the most remote and under-resourced areas of the world. In such settings, trust and coordination aren’t just helpful—they are essential to expanding access and ensuring the safety and well-being of civilian populations.

Participants will gain insight into the day-to-day realities of health system development in conflict zones, including logistical constraints, political sensitivities, and the complexities of working across cultural and organizational boundaries. The session will also offer frameworks for thinking about health as a stabilizing force in fragile settings, and how these lessons might inform work in other complex environments.

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