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Greetings!
The Harvard Humanitarian is a monthly e-newsletter compiled by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) to publicize news, publications, and events in the Harvard community related to advancing responses to humanitarian crises of war and disaster. Please help us make this a robust resource by contributing your Harvard community news items via email. |
SPECIAL FEATURE
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Women in War Program's S.E.L.F. Study Completes Data Collection in DRC
 | | Congolese team members of the S.E.L.F. Study hold certificates they received after completing a 6-day training course led by Women in War Researchers Susan Bartels (seated, far right) and Jennifer Scott (seated, far left) |
The S.E.L.F. (Santé pour les Enfants et Les Femmes) Study, a project of the Women in War program, recently completed data collection in Bukavu, capital of South Kivu Province in Democratic Republic of Congo.
The project examined outcomes of sexual violence related pregnancies and made use of a unique sampling methodology called Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS). RDS uses peer recruitment to study "hidden populations", in this case sexual violence survivors who are often stigmatized by their communities.
This is one of the first times that RDS has been used to study sexual violence. Data were entered electronically into handheld tablets (using KoBo technology) and the database is currently being cleaned. Over a four-week period, the team was able to interview 759 women who are currently raising children conceived from sexual violence and an additional 86 women who had terminated a sexual violence related pregnancy.
To learn more about the Women in War program, please click here.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
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The Idjwi Project
HHI has supported the Idjwi Project, the first-ever large health assessment of Idjwi Island in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the edges of the current conflict.
Including geospatialist and lead author Dana Thomson, as well as HSPH demographer Marcia Castro, the project has published a paper examining fertility and environmental sustainability. The paper has utilized remote sensing in lieu of a census.
Faculty Member Discusses Crowdsourcing in US News & World Report
To read the article, click here.
To learn more about HHI's Program on Evaluation and Implementation Science, please click here.
Women in War Program Wraps Up Project on Mining and Gender in DRC
The Women in War program is completing a project examining women's roles in artisanal mining in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. This project explores not only women's vulnerabilities to human rights violations, but also sources of resilience and ways to build on positive economic systems within artisanal mining towns. Data was collected in three sites - Walikale, Kalehe, Walungu - through key informant interviews; focus group discussions; and an analysis of the Congolese legal framework.
To learn more about the Women in War Program, please click here.
Fellow Writes on "Jordan's Entrepreneurship Revolution"
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Credit: Cisco Blogs
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HHI fellow, Adele Waugaman, traveled to Jordan as part of a technology delegation from the Aspen Institute's Partners for a New Beginning Program. Blogging for Cisco on the experience, Waugman discusses "Jordan's entrepreneurship revolution" and future pathways for growth in ICT, financial services, and healthcare.
Read the article, here.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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Event times, dates, and locations listed here are subject to change without notice. Please contact the event host for more information.
REGISTER NOW:
(Re)Mapping Health: Interdisciplinary Workshop on Innovative Methods for Representing Spatial Data
January 7-11 + 14-18
9:00-5:00 PM
Harvard University
This workshop, supported by the President's January Innovation Fund, is designed to bring together students and faculty from across the University, including the Graduate School of Design, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, and the Center for Geographic Analysis. Students will be asked to engage critically with the practice of mapping, interpreting, and visualizing spatial data to explore the potential of design in the social sciences and medical fields. The intention is to develop a methodology for using mapping, data visualization, and other methods of design representation as analytic and speculative tools to inform effective humanitarian responses in the future.
For more information about the program and how to register, please click here.
Please contact Caroline Shannon (cshannon@gsd.harvard.edu) with questions.
The 13th National Conference on Science, Policy, and the Environment - Disasters and Environment: Science, Preparedness, and Resilience
January 15-17 2013
Washington D.C.
The Disasters and Environment Conference will focus on several key themes: cascading disasters, disasters as mechanisms of ecosystem change, and the intersection of the built and natural environments. Over 1,100 leaders from federal agencies, state and local governments, non-governmental and civic organizations, higher education institutions, businesses, and international entities, are expected to attend. HHI Senior Fellow, Dr. Skip Burkle, will also be moderating a symposium titled Unmeasured Consequences of Major Natural Disasters and Conflict.
For information, please click here.
Brownbag lunch with Pavel Chacuk, OSCE/ODIHR Human Rights Officer
Friday, January 25, 2013
12:00 - 1:30 pm
Carr Center Conference Room (R-219)
This event will provide an opportunity to present and discuss the new tool for promoting effective human rights education in law enforcement agencies. The publication offer guidance on developing curricula, enhancing the teaching and learning experience, preparing teachers and trainers, and evaluating the work done. The Guidelines are the result of extensive consultations with human rights educators and trainers, representatives of governmental agencies and inter-governmental organizations, human rights activists and other practitioners.
For more information, please click here.
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PUBLICATIONS & PRESS
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- Chan, Jennifer. "How to Make Crowdsourcing Disaster Relief Work Better." U.S. News and World Report. November 23, 2012.
- Chao, Tiffany, Burdic, MacKenzie, Ganjawalla, Karan, Derbew, Miliard, Keshian, Christopher, Meara, John, and McQueen, Kelly. "Survey of Surgery and Anesthesia Infrastructure in Ethiopia." World Journal of Surgery. 2012 Nov;36(11).
- Hackel, Joyce. "Immigrants Expected to do the Heavy Lifting in Post-Sandy Reconstruction." November 5, 2012.
- Fink, Sheri. "Evacuated in Hurricane, Woman, 93, Reunites With Family After 2 Weeks." New York Times. November 13, 2012.
- LaBrun D, Saaverdo-Ponzo I, Agreda-Flores F, Burdic M, Notrica M, McQueen K. "Surgical and Anesthesia Capacity in Bolivian Hospitals." World Journal of Surgery, Nov 2012 36(11):2559-66.
- Thomson, Dana, Hadley, Michael, Greenough, Gregg, and Marcia Castro. "Modelling Strategic interventions in a population with a total fertility rate of 8.3: a cross-sectional study of Idjwi Island, DRC." BMC Public Health 2012 12:959.
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About The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative
HHI fosters interdisciplinary collaboration at Harvard University in order to improve the effectiveness of humanitarian strategies for relief, protection, and prevention; instill human rights principles and practices in these strategies; and educate and train the next generation of humanitarian leaders. In 2005, the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative was established as a University-wide interfaculty academic and research center, supported by the Office of the Provost and the Harvard School of Public Health with the participation of faculty from Harvard schools and affiliated hospitals. For more information, visit www.hhi.harvard.edu. |
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