Following two semesters of coursework, students are required to participate in a two- to three-month practicum with an international agency or non-governmental organization, either headquarters-level or in the field, in accordance with the students' career plans. The practicum permits students to demonstrate their capacities to conduct professional-level work appropriate for a MPH in Population and Family Health. Students are responsible for the design and implementation of an independent research project on a pertinent public health or social sector theme.  The nature of the project and the site of the practicum are decided upon in consultation with Program faculty.  

Past practica were completed in the following countries: Angola, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Burundi, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Georgia, Guinea, Haiti, Indonesia, India, Israel, Kosovo, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Myanmar, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Pakistan, Peru, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania and Thailand.

Summer 2009

"Grave Violations" Survey in Central African Republic

Professor Les Roberts and Program on Forced Migration and Health students Kathleen Myer and Alina Potts conducted a nationwide survey of children's rights violations in the Central African Republic (CAR) in collaboration with UNICEF.  The survey examined the "grave violations" of children's rights that are to be monitored in selected conflicts according to the UN Security Council Resolution 1612, namely killing or maiming, abductions, recruitment, and rape or sexual abuse of children. 

The survey was conducted using the Neighborhood Method, a survey methodology developed at Columbia University and built on the assumption that, in certain contexts, people are able to speak knowledgeably about the experiences of their neighbors.  The research team divided the country into two strata (the North being more affected by conflict and less exposed to government services than the South), surveyed 60 clusters throughout the country, and calculated prevalence rates for the grave violations listed above, as well as crude and under-five mortality rates. 

They found the most prevalent violation experienced by children to be rape. Surprisingly there was a relatively high rate of abduction of adult men.  Overall more violations were reported in the Northern part of the country. 

The survey uncovered a staggeringly high mortality rate throughout the country, with a crude mortality rate double the emergency threshold mortality rates established by the Sphere Project, Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. 

These findings are being shared with UNICEF and partners in CAR to develop advocacy and program responses to address the highest mortality rate uncovered and further explore its causes; to direct programming related to the grave violations surveyed; and to improve current monitoring and surveillance processes. 

The work, funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, would not have been possible without a strong team of six female interviewers, recruited in the capital city Bangui.

Three interviewers walking through a village in which surveys where conducted

Methods Training Workshop in Gulu

August saw the rollout of the first CPC Learning Network (cpclearningnetwork.org) methods training workshop. Held in Gulu, Northern Uganda it was delivered in collaboration with the Program Learning Group established with support from the Program of Forced Migration and Health (PFMH) at Columbia University and Save the Children last year. Participants for the workshop, 'Assessing Needs, Mapping Progress', were predominantly drawn from national and international NGOs working in Gulu in the field of child protection. The meeting was opened to participants from Rwanda and Ethiopia, in a run-up to the regional events the CPC Network is considering for 2010.

The workshop addressed the importance of reliable information on child protection needs and systems response, as a basis for planning and advocacy.  PFMH student, Shweta Dewan, shared insights from her analysis of current information held in Gulu; this analysis also fed into work CPC is piloting with Save the Children Sweden on creating Child Protection National Index Reports (NIRs). The workshop then focused on sharing emerging field methods for relevant, efficient and sensitive data collection in community settings. The fourth day of the workshop saw participants visiting projects in the Gulu area and putting these methods into practice, with the final day given over to presentations based on the assessment and evaluations completed.

Feedback on the training provided was very positive, with local members of the Child Protection Working Group planning to use the skills learned in an inter-agency child protection assessment in the District in the coming months. As Shweta reports, “Participants reported surprise at how easy M&E can be—many had considered it a separate task that required a huge amount of extra planning, equipment, and time that they didn’t necessarily have, making it very intimidating to them.  After the workshop, they said, ‘This isn’t so hard. We can do this, and maybe we can work on it together!’”  The workshop was also filmed by a videographer for use in future open learning programs, including the planned 'Global Classroom' initiative of the PFMH.

Groundbreaking Survey of Stress and Well-being Among NGO National Staff in Northern Uganda

Program on Forced Migration and Health (PFMH) student Dr. Eba Pasha collaborated with faculty and colleagues from the PFMH at Columbia University (New York), the Fuller Institute (Pasadena), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC, Atlanta), and the Antares Foundation (Amsterdam) to lead a groundbreaking survey of stress and staff-wellbeing amongst national NGO workers.

The survey built on relationships established through CPC work over the past three years with Christian Children’s Fund (CCF), Save the Children and other organizations working in Gulu, Northern Uganda.  It examined staff exposure to acute, chronic and organizational stressors, as well as indicators of well-being including mental health and burn-out. The study—which sampled over 400 staff from a representative sample of over 20 organizations—is the largest study of its kind, responding to increased awareness of the importance of  staff well-being for effective and efficient humanitarian programming. Dr. Pasha found overwhelming support for the survey: “National staff in Gulu—whether involved directly in the survey or not—were very appreciative of a study on this topic.  They strongly believe it is an important, yet neglected area in humanitarian operations.”  Data from the survey is currently being analyzed, and will be used as the basis for planning a program to develop the capacity of NGOs regarding staff support, with funding from CDC.

Image: Shweta Dewan, Eba Pasha, Thomas Duke, Alastair Ager in Uganda

National Index Reports Piloted in Indonesia and Northern Uganda

CPC and Save the Children-Sweden are working together on a new initiative, to create Child Protection National Index Reports (NIRs) that provide an “at a glance” summary of relevant child protection information and indicators on a national level.  Pilot projects were carried out in Indonesia and Northern Uganda, where PFMH faculty and students, including Dr. Alastair Ager, Dr. Neil Boothby, Senior Research Associate Lindsay Stark, and students Shweta Dewan, Kathleen Simmons, and Erin Chu, worked with national partners to collate and collect existing information.  The experience in Indonesia, a country where significant child protection activities have already taken place on a national scale (following the Asian Tsunami), showed the ability to quickly construct NIRs when a relatively large amount of data is available for reporting.  Meanwhile, the work in Northern Uganda demonstrated the potential difficulties of constructing such reports at sub-national level (district, region, etc.), particularly where there are little to no existing sources of data.
 
NGO and government staff in both settings identified great potential for these reports, for use across planning, programming and advocacy.  For implementing agencies, donors, policy organizations, and government, the NIRs provide a centralized location for sourcing data that can also be used to compare the child protection situation between countries, and target scarce resources to specific areas and locations where the need is greatest.  The Child Protection NIRs have the same potential as those currently created for Maternal and Child Health indicators, to enable better targeting for interventions and achievements based on data that is presented in a centralized and clear reporting format.

Researcher Kathleen Simmons shared reflections from the Indonesian counterparts she interacted with, explaining that, “Many staff in Indonesia were engaged in the collection of the protection data, but knew it was not representative and most likely failed to capture the prevalence of protection issues present in the community. The pilot projects allowed us to begin to establish a consensus on what different data terms mean, what would fall under those categories, and how to understand and use prevalence data.”  The next steps in the project include defining criteria by which to assess the quality of data, as well as establishing consensus on approaches both to desk-based preliminary research and the collection of primary data, when needed.

Kathleen Simmons, Erin Chu, Juvenile Court Judge - West Jakarta, Lindsay Stark

Piloting of Inter-Agency Emergency Child Protection Resource Kit in Ethiopia

PFMH student Courtney Blake travelled to Ethiopia this summer to pilot the Inter-Agency Emergency Child Protection Resource Kit, in collaboration with Unicef-Ethiopia.  Courtney worked closely with the Unicef Child Protection in Emergencies Officer to lay the groundwork for upcoming Child Protection Assessments in Gambella and Somali regions, and completed a preliminary process documentation on field testing of the resource kit.  The resource kit includes guidance on desk review, including review of relevant government policies and laws; discussion guides, including participative ranking methodologies; a key informant interview guide; community assessment forms; and mapping checklists for both institutional capacity and humanitarian capacity.  As Courtney explains, “The kit is intended to capture key child protection concerns and vulnerabilities, map out existing resources and child protection systems, identify needs, and help inform response and/or emergency preparedness and planning.”

The TB Rapid Assessment Tool

Nathan Manley worked in Zimbabwe with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to document the tuberculosis (TB) burden in recently deported Zimbabweans who had been in Botswana illegally.  With IOM and CDC colleagues, Nathan designed and implemented a questionnaire - the TB Rapid Assessment Tool - that allowed them to quantify how many probable TB cases they were missing on a daily basis.  This information assisted Nathan and his colleagues in designing a low cost diagnostic and treatment program that utilized existing, albeit very limited, resources at the local government hospital.  The aim of quantifying the TB burden in this vulnerable population was to know how many referrals IOM would make to the government hospital per day, week, month and year so that IOM and CDC could mobilize resources (mainly lab reagents and supplies for sputum microscopy) and support the hospital in key areas.

Nathan Manley (center) and IOM colleagues in Zimbabwe