The Donia Human Rights Center (DHRC) at the University of Michigan brings New York Times correspondent, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and author Sheri Fink to campus as part of its Distinguished Lecture Series, a prestigious venue for renowned scholars and practitioners who have made significant contributions to the advancement of human rights in the world. Her lecture “Human Rights and Medical Care in Times of Emergency” takes place on Monday, October 23, at 5:00 pm in the Apse, at the University of Michigan Museum of Art, 525 S. State Street. A book signing follows. Both events are free and open to the public.

Fink’s talk will recount the Ebola outbreak, where healthcare providers varied sharply on lines of nationality; share stories of a hospital cut off by Hurricane Katrina floodwaters, where health professionals were later arrested on accusations of second-degree murder; and explore the Balkan Wars of the 1990s, when humanitarian health aid masked a lack of political will to confront genocide. Having reported on the effects of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, as well as the mass shooting in Las Vegas in early October, she will also discuss recent healthcare emergencies and the humanitarian issues.

Sheri Fink is the author of The New York Times bestselling book, Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital, about choices made in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and War Hospital: A True Story of Surgery and Survival, a gripping account of the challenges faced by physicians in the embattled enclave of Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina. She is a correspondent at The New York Times, where she and her colleagues received the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting on the West Africa Ebola crisis. Her story, "The Deadly Choices at Memorial," received a 2010 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting and a National Magazine Award for reporting. A former relief worker in disaster and conflict zones, Fink earned her BS from the University of Michigan, and MD and PhD from Stanford University.

Photo credit: Jen Dessinger

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Contact:
Nataša Gruden-Alajbegović
nalajbeg@umich.edu

The Donia Human Rights Center, housed within the International Institute, is a forum for intellectual exchange on issues around human rights among scholars, practitioners, students, and the broader public. DHRC aims to promote a deeper understanding of human rights issues in the contemporary world and to equip constituents with the tools to tackle challenging human rights problems around the world.