Inter- and intra-state conflicts are surging, development agencies face downsizing or dissolution, and the resulting health consequences are projected to reverberate across generations. The Lab examines the profound effects of foreign engagement on global health in an era of escalating geopolitical crises.

“Foreign engagement” encompasses the full spectrum from cooperative state-to-state actions — official development assistance (ODA) and humanitarian aid — to coercive strategies such as war, blockades, ODA defunding, and sanctions. This broad framing captures both cooperative and coercive instruments, and offers a pragmatic lens for understanding how health can be advanced or undermined amid crises. The Lab also explores novel responses to this era of crisis, such as debt relief, to offset volatile development funding.