1036 - Geopolitics and Humanitarian Health in Iran, Cuba, and Ukraine

About this episode:

Humanitarian crises don't exist in a vacuum—they are shaped by geopolitical actions like blockades, sanctions, and armed conflicts between countries. In this episode: Stanford University scholar Ruth Gibson details how geopolitical decisions impact civilians on the ground and how this framing applies to current situations in Iran, Cuba, and Ukraine.

Guest:

Ruth Gibson, PhD, is a scholar at Stanford University where she holds appointments in at the Center for Innovation and Global Health and the Center for International Security and Cooperation.

Host:

Dr. Josh Sharfstein is distinguished professor of the practice in Health Policy and Management, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland's Health Department.

Show links and related content:

• U.S. to Blockade Ships Entering or Exiting Iranian Ports—U.S. Central Command

• Block Food and Medicine?—Geopolitics and Humanity Dispatch

• Cuban doctors endure burnout, blackouts as once-vaunted healthcare declines—Reuters

• Willing Accomplices: Gazprom & Rosneft's Role in the Transport and Indoctrination of Ukraine's Children—Yale School of Public Health Humanitarian Research Lab

• Caring for Children in War-Torn Ukraine—Public Health On Call (November 2025)

• Starvation in Gaza—Public Health On Call (July 2025)

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