What inspired your interest in Planetary Health?

My interest in Planetary Health grew out of witnessing, firsthand, how environmental degradation and fragile governance structures can turn into health crises. Working with the United Nations across humanitarian and climate-response operations in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia, I saw how drought, pollution, and conflict could devastate both people and ecosystems. In Iraq, toxic remnants of war polluted soil and water sources, directly affecting community health in the Horn of Africa, drought and displacement deepened malnutrition and disease outbreaks. 

These experiences made it clear that the health of people cannot be separated from the health of the planet. I became determined to use data science and spatial analysis not only to map crises after they happen, but to predict and prevent them—to translate field evidence into actionable Planetary Health intelligence that informs sustainable policy and global humanitarian action.

Tell us about your Planetary Health work at JHU

During my Master of Applied Science in Spatial Analysis for Public Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, I conducted my capstone research titled “Cluster Detection of Conflict Events and Spatial Prediction of Explosive Hazards in Iraq.” This work combined geospatial modeling, public health surveillance, and environmental data to identify areas where conflict-related contamination could increase community exposure to toxic hazards. The project bridged planetary and population health by framing environmental contamination as a public health threat requiring prevention, not just remediation. Collaborating with public health faculty and applying data-driven models strengthened my conviction that big data and spatial intelligence can play a transformative role in Planetary Health research. It also deepened my commitment to exploring how technology and interdisciplinary science can help build climate resilience for vulnerable populations globally.

What excites you about the future of Planetary Health?

I’m inspired by how Planetary Health is moving from a conceptual framework to a collaborative movement connecting data science, climate modeling, economics, and community health. The future I imagine is one where artificial intelligence and geospatial analytics help policymakers anticipate climate-driven disease risks, humanitarian actors plan interventions with environmental foresight, and educators train the next generation to view public health through a planetary lens. I’m especially excited about the Institute for Planetary Health’s role in building this bridge between academia and applied fieldwork—creating knowledge that is as actionable as it is scientific. I see enormous potential in transforming the datasets generated in humanitarian operations into predictive insights that guide real-world adaptation strategies. For me, Planetary Health represents both a moral responsibility and a professional calling—to ensure that data-driven innovation protects not only human lives, but the ecosystems that sustain them.

More about Farakh Saeed:

Over the past 15 years, Farakh has worked with multiple United Nations agencies—including UNDP, UNICEF, UNOPS, UNMAS, and UNEP—leading data and information-management initiatives that connect environmental factors to human health outcomes. Farakh is also the founder of INGO.WORK— a data-driven platform mapping global humanitarian and development opportunities that supports thousands of professionlas worldwide in aligning their careers with the SDGs.