APPLIED RESEARCH

Care and Protection of Children in Crisis Affected Countries

To strengthen consensus on possible care and protection interventions for children in countries affected by crisis, the Program on Forced Migration and Health within Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health is leading a three-year initiative that will focus on early reintegration and post crisis recovery programs for at-risk and displaced children.USAID's Displaced Children and Orphans Fund is funding the program. The central goal of the program is to improve the care and protection of children affected by armed conflict and natural disasters. The project will include an extensive literature review and structured consultation with expert practitioners to establish key areas where a stronger evidence-base is required. A structured Delphi analysis will provide a robust review of perceived global best practice. The project will pilot new assessment methodologies that allow critical child-care and protection needs to be identified and use these in field settings to strengthen the evidence-base for effective child-care and protection programs. Working with practitioners and policymakers, the Program will formulate recommendations for the design, evaluation, and implementation of child-focused programs and seek to mainstream findings into US, UN and wider humanitarian policy agendas. Faculty: Neil Boothby, Alastair Ager, Mike Wessells

The Care and Protection of Children Initiative Spring 2008 and the Fall 2008 newsletter are now available.

Averting Maternal Death and Disability

Within Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, the Averting Maternal Death and Disability (AMDD) Program seeks to contribute to the reduction of maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity by strengthening health systems through expanding equitable access to good quality emergency services and linking to other elements of the continuum of care. In 2005 the program completed the final year of a six year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation covering its first phase of activities and is now beginning a second phase. The goal of this second phase is to identify and develop policies and strategies to address and measure key aspects of health system functioning that will enable countries to deliver critical maternal and neonatal mortality interventions equitably and at scale. The program works in partnership with intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, governments and professional associations. In its first phase, AMDD and its project partners implemented more than 80 projects in more than 50 countries. These project partners included UNICEF, UNFPA, CARE, Save the Children, the Reproductive Health Response in Conflict Consortium (RHRC) and the Regional Program on Maternal Mortality (RPMM) Network in Africa. AMDD technical partners included Family Health International, the Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad), JPHIEGO and JSI. The program also cooperated actively with professional associations such as FIGO, the International Confederation of Midwives and FOGSI. Allan Rosenfield and Deborah Maine served as Principal Investigators for the program during its first phase. In April 2005, Lynn Freedman succeeded Deborah Maine as Director of the AMDD Program; she and Allan Rosenfield are Principal Investigators for the second phase of the program. Faculty: Allan Rosenfield, Lynn Freedman, Therese McGinn, Leslie Kantor.

Longitudinal Research on Stress in Humanitarian Aid Workers

The rise in low-intensity conflicts in the 1990's found humanitarian aid workers frequently in the line of fire that affected the functioning and productivity of agency programs. Only a longitudinal approach can establish predictive relationships between personal, organizational and duty-related stressors, and mental health and organizational productivity. Alastair Ager (who serves on the Board of the Antares Foundation, the implementing partner for this research) is collaborating with colleagues from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the University of Amsterdam, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pepperdine University, Tulane University School of Public Health and Mount Sinai School of Medicine in this ground-breaking study. The study goal is to provide in-depth and scientifically valid information regarding mental health status of humanitarian workers working under stress and in hardship. Specific objectives are: to identify aspects of work associated with elevated risk of poor mental health and burnout in aid workers; to identify the risk and resilience factors moderating the impact of such stressors on or staff functioning; and to provide recommendations for selection, training, and management of aid workers, and effective intervention for stressed individuals. Faculty: Alastair Ager

Reproductive Health Access, Information and Services in Emergencies (RAISE)

The Reproductive Health Access, Information and Services in Emergencies (RAISE) Initiative is catalysing change in how reproductive health (RH) is addressed by all sectors involved in emergency response, from field services to advocacy, from local aid providers to global relief movements. Developed by Columbia University's Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health in the Mailman School of Public Health and Marie Stopes International (MSI), the RAISE Initiative aims to address the full range of RH needs for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) by building partnerships with humanitarian and development agencies, governments, United Nations (UN) bodies, advocacy agencies and academic institutions. Through the expertise of our staff and leading research institutions; the power of cooperative partnerships with leading agencies and across multiple sectors; and the development of consistent, clearly established objectives for RH, the RAISE initiative is well positioned to address the pressing RH needs of populations affected by emergencies. The RAISE Initiative represents a strengthened commitment to the provision of fully integrated and comprehensive RH services for all. Faculty: Therese McGinn