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Keeping essential health services running during displacement

How adaptive staffing, referral networks, and simple information systems support continuity.

Omar Al-Khatib Affiliations & notes a Frontline Learning Network Professor Michael Grant Affiliations & notes b Global Health Policy Institute
Affiliations & notes
  • a Frontline Learning Network
  • b Global Health Policy Institute
Publication date: 6 October 2026 Crisis-affected settings
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Omar Al-Khatib

Displacement changes where people live, how they travel, and which services they can reach.

Design for movement

Service plans work better when they account for changing catchment areas rather than assuming a fixed population.

A practical checklist

  1. Map service access frequently.
  2. Maintain multiple referral options.
  3. Monitor interruptions, not only activity totals.

Small adjustments can prevent large gaps in care.

About the authors

Omar Al-Khatib*

Frontline Learning Network
Lead author

A field researcher documenting practical lessons from crisis-affected health services.

Professor Michael Grant

Global Health Policy Institute
Co-author

An academic adviser working on health policy, evidence use, and emergency preparedness.