Francisco Mendina, HBSc, MMASc, PhD(c)
Francisco Mendina Callero is a PhD student in Health Information Science at Western University. His research, supervised by Dr. Elysee Nouvet, aims to understand how humanitarian healthcare professionals understand and enact solidarity in prolonged conflict settings. This study provides urgently needed empirical insight into the meaning and practice of solidarity in humanitarian healthcare—a concept frequently invoked but seldom examined through the perspectives of those on the front lines. It explores how solidarity interacts with competing demands such as neutrality, safety, and access, and how it is enacted or contested in practice. Rather than assuming solidarity is inherently transformative, Francisco’s research asks what solidarity means, produces, and complicates, contributing to ongoing debates on humanitarian reform and the ethics of global health work.
Francisco holds an Honours Bachelor of Science in Life Sciences with an interdisciplinary minor in Sustainability from McMaster University and a Master of Management of Applied Science in Global Health Systems from Western University. His academic and professional interests span humanitarian health ethics, global health governance, and the sociology of health. Before beginning his doctoral studies, Francisco gained experience in community health, education, and community engagement. His work has included program coordination and implementation, case management, and health promotion initiatives, with a focus on community-based HIV prevention and self-testing. Across these roles, he has been committed to strengthening health equity, advancing access to care, and fostering inclusive approaches to public health education and service delivery.
HUMANITARIAN HEALTH ETHICS 