Extraordinary Journeys
This special live storytelling event held on March 5, 2025, at the Hopkins Bloomberg Center, in Washington, D.C., spotlighted the remarkable experiences of public health practitioners with lived experience as refugees. The evening was co-hosted by Global Health NOW and the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health.
Storytellers from Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), South Sudan, Sudan, and Syria shared firsthand accounts of living and working amid humanitarian crises, fleeing conflict, and shaping impactful roles in public health.
On this page, you can find a full recording of the event, including remarks from Paul Spiegel, MD, MPH, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health, and a Q&A with moderator Frances Stead Sellers, MA, associate editor of The Washington Post, as well as the individual storytellers' segments. They can also be found on GHN's Youtube page.
Hasina Alokozai
Hasina Alokozai had a prestigious career in public health in Afghanistan before her family was forced to flee the country amid the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. She worked with UNICEF on nutrition programs in Afghanistan before receiving the Johns Hopkins’ Peter Salama MPH Tuition Scholarship for Refugees.
Aseel Salih
Aseel Salih fled Sudan's civil war in 2023 after serving as the country's youngest government health official. In this role, she shaped COVID-19 policy and represented Sudan at multiple WHO World Health Assemblies where she advocated for global health equity. Today, she continues her journey at the intersection of health policy and strategy at Otsuka Pharmaceuticals.
Houssam al-Nahhas
Houssam al-Nahhas has devoted his career to improving and protecting the health of Syrians affected by conflict in the country. He played a crucial role in providing medical care during Syria’s uprising, and was detained for providing these services. Today he works for Physicians for Human Rights, where he documents and analyzes attacks on health care.
Nan Aye Aye
Nan Aye Aye is a nurse who has worked extensively in humanitarian settings. After fleeing conflict in Burma (Myanmar) as a child, she grew up in a Thai refugee camp. She earned her GED at a school for refugees before coming to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health on a Peter Salama MPH Tuition Scholarship for Refugees. She currently works with an NGO helping refugees in the U.S. to access health care.
Kemish Kenneth Alier
Kemish Kenneth Alier, from South Sudan, lived in a refugee camp in Uganda for over two decades. After receiving an MD from Gulu University in Uganda, he returned to South Sudan, where he practiced clinically in a rural hospital before receiving his MPH and MBA from Johns Hopkins. He now works with the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health, conducting research focused on health and nutrition in settings of conflict and displacement.