The Health in Humanitarian Crises Centre are excited to partner with King’s College London on the Women Leaders in Heath and Conflict (WLHC) initiative. The WLHC is a newly formed group of aspiring and established women working as researchers and practitioners within fragile and conflict-affected areas to challenge the status quo and enhance opportunities for women’s leadership.

The WLHC initiative highlights and foregrounds the leadership women undertake in areas of armed conflict and humanitarian emergencies. Grouping together aspiring and established experts, we are working collaboratively with academic partners, NGOs, humanitarian practitioners and policy makers to build a sustainable platform that addresses significant challenges, and opportunities, for women’s leadership in the conflict and health sector.

• Women are disproportionately affected by armed conflict and humanitarian emergencies.
   
• Women are increasingly at the forefront of improving health for conflict-affected populations: through service delivery, education and capacity strengthening, advocacy and research.
   
• Women continue to make important contributions to health system development; improving evidence and humanitarian interventions, uncovering human rights abuses, highlighting the detrimental health outcomes of marginalised groups, and bringing vital knowledge and intervention gaps to global attention.

• Undertaking quantitative and qualitative research on women’s leadership in conflict and health.
• Creating a network of researchers and practitioners working towards the advancement of women leaders in conflict affected areas.
• Accelerating a global mentorship programme within which senior female and male leaders’ mentor the next generation of women leaders in conflict and health.
• A series of lectures and conferences hosted at King’s College, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and other UK partners, across the MENA region and in other conflict-affected regions.
• Profiling women leaders in health and conflict.