With more than 12 years of experience in humanitarian disaster relief and major humanitarian health crises across more than 25 countries, USF College of Public Health MPH student Michael McCusker found it a natural calling to deploy to the frontlines to assist displaced populations evacuating from Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.

McCusker has led large-scale, complex and high-profile humanitarian responses in some of the most notable crises of the past decade, including the Ebola response in West Africa, the Myanmar Rohingya refugee response and Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, among others.

As a senior director for Migrant and Emergency Programs for Church World Service (CWS), a non-profit organization providing safe passage, resettlement and assistance to refugees across the world, he oversees key programmatic units, including the border and humanitarian portfolio, asylum services, children’s services (targeting unaccompanied children), CWS’ National Legal Services and disaster preparedness and emergency response work.

Due to his extensive background in emergency humanitarian assistance, he was requested to deploy with a duty team to Moldova and Romania in early March to focus on building a program to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to refugees fleeing the throngs of the Ukraine conflict, paying special attention to children at risk of being separated from their families or falling victim.

McCusker said that when he deployed, more than 5 million refugees had already fled Ukraine, mostly women and children.

“The sheer scale of displacement is incredible–both internal displacement and outpouring displacement,” he said. “As with any crisis, women, children, marginalized communities and those living in poverty will be those most affected. You can see it right there on the frontlines of displacement. Working in a conflict will trigger the people you work with and will also trigger you. Everyone is dealing with their own levels of stress, fear and anxiety and [we] process it in different ways.”

McCusker visited displacement centers along the border and makeshift displacement centers set up in cities, including in gymnasiums, stadiums and schools, to get a sense of “where the gaps and needs were” and how CWS could fill those gaps with their signature program services in refugee case management and humanitarian assistance.

Displacement centers at border centers included a variety of resources to welcome refugees, such as food, temporary shelter, medical aid, psychological counseling centers and resources for children, including toys.

“The capacity of the local community to continue to help these people will run out,” he said. “Hotels, congregations, people’s homes and the community’s absorption capacity is reaching maximum thresholds—many refugees are staying with host families, in hotels which was significantly bypassed in the early days with agencies fleeing to displacement cities in large main cities.”

McCusker said that starting local, specifically by going deep into communities and non-traditional displacement pockets together with trusted local partners allowed CWS to get a “true” mapping of displacement and a first-hand view of the immediate, and often hidden, needs of the refugees has helped.

“Moldova doesn’t have near the same structure and resources as the EU. As Europe’s poorest nation, it’s taken in over 400,000 Ukrainian refugees so far,” he said.

McCusker said he worries for when this goodwill will run out, as many will not be able to provide the resources nor sustain the pace of demand for services, especially those displaced in host communities. This is where resources from other agencies will be key, he says.

His visit to a Romanian displacement center provided him with a stark contrast to the level of resources as to what each neighboring country could provide.

McCusker said the attack on Ukrainian hospitals and health care centers indicates that the war has taken on a new dimension that could impact displacement centers.

“Hospitals are overrun, and NGOs are at the forefront, sending supplies and propping up the health system in surrounding countries like Moldova and in Ukraine where they are needed most. But it was sad to see how the weight of the entire Ukrainian health system is at such a tipping point and resting on their shoulders,” he said.

While conducting his research on where the gaps were at each site, McCusker admitted that despite limited resources, seeing humanity in action was the most surprising part of his trip.

“How can the worst and best in humanity co-exist in one place? I was horrified with what humans can do to one another while also being amazed by how other humans, like the volunteers, doctors and normal civilians, support one another. So many ordinary people came out to help and welcome refugees into their homes in Moldova—priests and normal civilians. This, despite being one of the poorest countries. It shows the best of humanity and [helps us] process what we’ve seen so far,” he said.

“Never underestimate the power of human empathy and calling to support thy neighbor in need.  It was humbling to see this at such a local level and largely at a global scale. It has been great to see,” he said.

In May 2022, McCusker and CWS were awarded the National Member of the Year award at the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster conference held in Baltimore.

“We know that we are stronger in the face of an emergency when we stand together. And over and over again this year, we’ve stood united with all of you,” CWS CEO Rick Santos said during his acceptance of the award.

McCusker said his public health passion is working in major infectious diseases and before COVID-19, he led many large-scale emergencies and served as director and senior advisor for large humanitarian efforts globally. He also oversaw a large USAID BHA-funded pandemic preparedness consortium with Save the Children and other influential global bodies, including the World Health Organization and UNICEF.

“This is my passion. Major infectious diseases will become one of the main or the main theme in humanitarian emergencies (along with climate change) for years to come. I’d love to have more technical knowledge and awareness around this topic which is why I’m enrolled in the global communicable diseases concentration,” he said.

Upon graduating, he said he hopes to continue working in the humanitarian health arena.

“I’m happy where I am but the MPH allows me to have a more technical grounding and epidemiological prowess in the major infectious disease space and its intersection with humanitarian/development sphere.  I hope this can set me up for future success with far superior knowledge about disease pathology and proven prevention strategies, along with being CPH certified!” he said.

Story by Anna Mayor, USF College of Public Health