Two billion people live in areas of conflict and fragility, reflecting a rapid increase in wars, ethnic strife and other man-made disasters since 2010. The world is also experiencing the greatest refugee crisis since the Second World War. Across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region protracted conflicts have led to dramatic increases of refugee populations.

War affected populations from countries that have undergone the epidemiological transition present new health, social care and development challenges. In particular, the diagnosis, management and treatment of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) provide new challenges for domestic health systems as well as for humanitarian and development aid providers. These challenges also threaten domestic health commitments to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This new humanitarian-development-health nexus demands a unique research agenda radically different to traditional approaches that address challenges posed by conflict and health in low-income countries with weak governments, institutions and a mainly communicable disease burden.