Conversation Series
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Program on Forced Migration and Health at the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health. As part of our anniversary celebration, we are conducting a series of conversations with key players who have contributed to the success of the Program on Forced Migration and Health.
Conversation 1: Reflections on the Founding of the PFMH with Dr. Carolyn Makinson and Dr. Ron Waldman
On February 7th, 2024, Professor Monette Zard, PFMH Program Director, interviewed Dr. Carolyn Makinson and Dr. Ron Waldman. Dr. Makinson was the Director of Population and Forced Migration programs at the Mellon Foundation when Mellon awarded the foundational grant to Columbia University to start the PFMH. Dr. Ron Waldman was the first director and led the efforts to establish the program. Their conversation touches on the humanitarian landscape in the 1990s, including the need for greater professionalization, more tailored and applied research and a humanitarian education and research program that could help meet those needs. This constellation of need, vision and opportunity led to the founding of the program. Listen here to learn more about the genesis of the PFMH.
Conversation 2: A Conversation with Dr. Sara Casey and Dr. Therese McGinn on the Evolution of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Humanitarian Settings
As part of our PFMH Anniversary Conversation Series, Dr. Sara Casey met with Dr. Therese McGinn to discuss Columbia University’s role in the evolution of sexual and reproductive health and rights in humanitarian settings. Dr. Casey is an Assistant Professor of Population and Family Health and Director of the Reproductive Health Access, Information, and Services in Emergencies (RAISE) Initiative, a global program collaborating with program partners to identify and respond to challenges to improve SRHR in humanitarian settings. Dr. Therese McGinn, Professor Emerita, is the Founding Director of the RAISE Initiative.
Dr. Casey and Dr. McGinn discuss how over the past 25 years, through strong partnerships and sound data collection and use, Columbia University has been a leader in improving the quality of SRHR for refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and others affected by humanitarian crises.
Conversation 3: Global Trends in Child Protection and Wellbeing: Insights from the CPC Learning Network
Housed in the Program on Forced Migration and Health, the Care and Protection of Children (CPC) Learning Network was founded in 2005 as a response to a need for more rigorous measurement of the evolving field of child protection in emergencies. Today, the CPC Learning Network is a global community of researchers in more than 20 countries who share a commitment to re-envisioning approaches to child well-being. In this conversation, we learn the CPC story from Professor Cassie Landers, CPC Co-Director and Assistant Professor, Mark Canavera, former CPC Co-Director, Timothy Opobo, Executive Director of The AfriChild Centre, and Yana Mayevskaya, Senior Program Officer for the CPC Learning Network.