Syllabus
Nutrition During Human Emergencies (HSA 304)

This is the Summer 2007 syllabus. See the appropriate syllabus for the semester you are interested in.

This is a three-credit graduate course and is one in a series of courses in the online Humanitarian Services Administration program developed by the University of Connecticut's Center for Continuing Studies. This course is an elective course in the online Master of Professional Studies degree with a field of study in Humanitarian Services Administration.

This course was developed by Dr. Rafael Pérez-Escamilla.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, humanitarian emergencies resulting from complex civil and military conflicts have become more common. As a result, international relief organizations are in serious need of highly trained professionals and paraprofessionals that can coordinate and manage effective and timely responses to emergencies. Unfortunately, there are few formal academic nutrition programs or courses available to individuals or organizations interested in humanitarian relief operations even though the need for them is huge. For example, on March 30, 2007, the jobs offering website, ReliefWeb, listed 44 job opportunities that had been posted within a 72 hour period of time by relief/development agencies such as: the International Rescue Committee, the U.N. Children's Fund, and Doctors without Borders (MSF). Because food and nutrition aid are such a cornerstone of emergency relief operations, the need for highly trained professionals in this specific area is paramount. Unfortunately, there are few full academic online courses currently available worldwide. It is my hope that this course will fill in this important gap by assisting current and future humanitarian professionals in understanding the data and basic principles they need to master in order to be able to come up with rational and cost-effective food and nutrition emergency relief approaches and programs.

Course Information

Course Title: Nutrition in Humanitarian Emergencies (HSA 304)

Credits: 3

Instructor: Amber Hromi-Fiedler

Instructor Email: kcnbuddy@sbcglobal.net

Course Description

This graduate-level course covers the following topics:

1. The vicious cycle of malnutrition and disease. 
2. Refugee and displaced populations in the developing world: Where, when, why, how many? 
3. Major food and nutrition challenges faced by refugee and displaced populations. 
4. Public health and interventions in emergencies
5. Types of feeding and nutrition supplementation programs in emergencies. 
6. Nutritional assessment as a tool to design, target and evaluate feeding and supplementation programs in emergencies.
7. Feeding of special populations such as: infants, pregnant and lactating women, and the elderly during emergencies. 
8. International agencies, non-government organizations, and government programs involved with food aid and relief. 
9. Food as a human right.
10. Guidelines adopted to implement the right to adequate food

Each section includes detailed class notes, Internet resources, reading assignments, and key and recommended readings.

Learning Objectives

 At the end of this course, the student will be able to:

• describe the epidemiology of refugee and displaced populations,
• discuss the malnutrition-disease vicious cycle,
• describe nutritional problems affecting refugee and displaced populations,
• discuss public health interventions in the context of nutrition during humanitarian crisis
• discuss the modern history of food assistance and relief among displaced populations,
• describe current emergency food and nutrition policies,
• discuss the adequacy of recommended energy content of emergency food rations,
• describe the micronutrient deficiency in emergency food rations and food supplementation programs,
• identify the types and application of different types of feeding programs,
• describe nutritional assessment and surveillance during humanitarian crises,
• identify agencies and governments involved with food assistance for displaced populations,
• discuss food as a human right in the context of refugee and displaced populations: issues and controversies,
• discuss the adopted guidelines set forth to ensure the right to adequate food for all as it relates to the context of humanitarian emergencies and international law, and
• describe gaps in knowledge and the role of the scientific community.

• Read and understand class notes.
• Do assigned readings and summaries on time (30% of grade).
• Research and write term paper (40% of grade).
• Active participation in on-line discussions (30% of grade).

Grade is based on three written assignments (30% of grade), a term paper (40% of grade), and frequency and quality of on-line discussions among students (30%).

Among the performance standards for this class is scrupulous adherence by students to ethical codes of conduct and one of the hallmarks of such behavior is honesty. This professional principle is violated when a student engages in academic and scholarly misconduct. Responsibility for such misconduct requires intent but is not excused by ignorance. Students should be familiar with the various definitions of misconduct particularly plagiarism and misrepresentation. They should discuss with their instructor any questions or doubts they have in this regard. They should be aware of the academic consequences of violations, which can include failure in the course.

You are responsible for acting in accordance with the Student Code, available at http://www.dosa.uconn.edu/student_code.cfm.

• Class notes
• Key readings per course section
• Comprehensive list of reference materials including Internet access when available
• Internet access to information/data on displaced populations’ monitoring and surveillance data and resources
• Contact information for agencies involved with emergency relief

Textbooks

Semba R. D., & Bloem M. W. (2001). Nutrition and health in developing countries. Humana Press. ISBN 0896038068

World Health Organization (2000). The management of nutrition in major emergencies. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization. Available online at: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2000/9241545208.pdf

The following readings will be provided in the course through the Electronic Course Reserve (ECR):

• Brennan R. J. & Nandy, R. (2001). Complex humanitarian emergencies: A major global health challenge. Emergency Medicine, 13, 147-156.
• Burton, A. & Breen, C. (2002). Older refugees in humanitarian emergencies. Lancet, 360(Suppl. s), 47-48.
• Collins, S. (2001). Changing the way we address severe malnutrition during famine. Lancet, 358, 498-501.
• Donev, D., Onceva, S., & Gligorov, I. (2002). Refugee crisis in Macedonia during the Kosovo conflict in 1999. Croation Medical Journal, 43(2), 184-189.
• Goma Epidemiology Group. (1995, February 11). Public health impact of Rwandan refugee crisis: what happened in Goma , Zaire , in July, 1994? Lancet, 345(8946), 339-344.
• Hassan, K., Sullivan, K. M., Yip, R. & Wooruff, B. A. (1997). Factors associated with anemia in refugee children. J Nutrition, 127, 2194-2198.
• Marchione, T. J. (2002). Foods provided through U.S. government emergency food aid programs: Policies and customs governing their formulation, selection and distribution. J Nutrition, 132, 2104S-2111S. 
• Mason, J. B. (2002). Lessons of nutrition of displaced people. J Nutrition, 132, 2096S-2103S.
• Porignon, D., Katulanya, I., Elongo, L., Ntalemwa, N., Tonglet, R., Dramaix, M. & Hennart, P. (2000). The unseen face of humanitarian crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo: Was nutritional relief properly targeted? J Epidemiol Community Health, 54, 6-9.
• Reed, B. A. & Habicht, J. P. (1998). Sales of food aid as sign of distress, not excess. The Lancet, 351, 128-130. 
• Webb, P. (2002). Emergency relief during Europe's famine of 1817 anticipated crisis-response mechanisms from today. J Nutrition, 132, 2092S-2095S.
• Young, H., Borrel, A., Holland, D., & Salama, P. (2004). Public nutrition in complex emergencies. Lancet, 364(9448), 1899-1909.

The following readings are available on the Internet:

• Academy for Educational Development (AED). (2001). HIV/AIDS: A guide for nutrition, care, and support. Washington D.C.: FANTA project, AED. Available at: http://www.who.int/disasters/repo/8518.pdf.
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The right to food in theory and practice. Available at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/w9990e/w9990e00.htm.
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The voluntary guidelines to support the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national security. Available at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/meeting/009/y9825e/y9825e00.htm .
• Jonsson, U. (2002). The right to nutrition in conflict situations. SCN News No. 24 Nutrition in the context of conflict and crisis (pp. 39-47). Available at: http://www.unsystem.org/scn/Publications/html/scnnews.html.
• Preble, E.A. & Piwoz, E. G. (1998). HIV and infant feeding: A chronology of research and policy advances and their implications for programs. Washington, D.C.: Academy for Educational Development; 1998. Available at: http://sara.aed.org/publications/cross_cutting/hiv_infant/html/infant.htm. 
• The Sphere project humanitarian charter and minimum standards in disaster response. Available at: http://www.sphereproject.org/handbook/ .
• UNAIDS. (2004). UNAIDS 2004 Report on the global AIDS epidemic . Available at: http://www.unaids.org/bangkok2004/report.html.
• UN ACC/SCN. (1998). SCN News No. 17 Nutrition and HIV/AIDS. Available at: http://www.unsystem.org/scn/Publications/html/scnnews.html.
• United Nations Standing Committee on Nutrition (SCN). (2002). Nutrition in the context of conflict and crisis. SCN News, 24, 3-94.  Available at: http://www.unsystem.org/scn/Publications/html/scnnews.html .
• World Health Organization. (2001). The optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding. Results of a WHO systematic review. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization. Available at: http://www.who.int/inf-pr-2001/en/note2001-07.html.
• World Health Organization. (2000). Reproductive health during conflict and displacement: A guide for programme managers . (Sections A-C and Appendix VIII) Geneva , Switzerland : World Health Organization. Available at: http://www.who.int/reproductive-health/publications/conflict_and_displacement/RH_conflict_table_of_contents.en.html

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Students will be provided an opportunity to evaluate instruction in this course using the University's standard procedures, which are administered by the Office of Institutional Research.