Events

Past Event

EPIC Tuesday Talk- "Biafra at 50: A War Remembered"

January 14, 2020
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
America/New_York
Faculty House, 64 Morningside Dr., New York, NY 10027 Ivy Lounge
"Biafra at 50: A War Remembered". Speaker: James F. Phillips, Professor Emeritus, Population and Family Health, Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health. By some estimates, the Nigerian Civil War was the greatest catastrophe ever to have occurred in Africa. Over the June, 1967 to January, 1970 period, the conflict may have claimed as many as two million lives. This presentation will be delivered by a former relief officer of the International Committee of the Red Cross who participated in the Biafra relief action over the May to October, 1969 period as an entry-level logistics worker, and from November 1969 to July 1970 as a “UN Forward Observer” assigned to the Third Division of the Nigerian Army. The presentation outlines causes and consequences of the conflict, procedures followed by the relief action, and examples of strategies that failed to have their intended impact. Lessons from Biafra attest to the value of implementation science in crisis-situations. Tuesday Talks are scheduled on the Morningside campus on alternate Tuesdays during the academic year. EPIC members, faculty, and invited guests speak on topics that range across the academic spectrum and also address issues of particular importance to the retired academic community. Lunch will be served. Guests are welcome.

Contact Information

Diana Dumitru
212-854-8083