Dietitian in a Conflict Zone: Managing a World Food Program Contract in Tigray, Ethiopia

This product is free for GMIG members.

This webinar was presented live on January 11, 2022.

The presenter recently spent 6 weeks in Ethiopia with an international non-governmental organization working in the Tigray region where conflict has left millions of local residents and internally displaced people without food sources. She, along with locally hired staff, managed a World Food Program contract for general food distributions to approximately 390,000 people in 4 localities. The webinar will describe warehousing and distribution of food commodities, what it's like to work in a conflict zone, and how a dietician can prepare for disaster relief work.

CPEU: 1.3
CPE Level: 1
Performance Indicators: 1.2, 2.2, 7.1

Learning Objectives

1. List three knowledge, skills, and abilities qualifications of a person capable of managing a general food distribution.
2. Decide if working in a conflict zone would be an acceptable personal risk.
3. Discuss the value of hiring qualified local residents to carry out programmatic functions.

Speaker

Laurie Sauerwein, MS, MScPH, RDN

Laurie has been a Registered Dietitian since 1982, working in outpatient medicine and WIC clinics after a three year stint in inpatient clinical. Much of the patient population she's served has been first and second generation immigrants, including many Spanish speakers. Laurie's international experience includes volunteer work in seven countries with several different organizations, including a total of 18 months in Africa. Overseas, Laurie has worked with and provided education for diabetes programs, hospital nutritionists, medical doctors, and community health workers. She has created educational materials, consulted on food assistance programs and managed World Food Program contracts in a disaster area and in a conflict zone. Laurie is currently a member of two international disaster relief teams. Her formal education includes a master's degree in nutrition from Central Washington University and a Master of Science in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Laurie is always working to upgrade her French and Spanish language skills and wishes she could speak all six UN languages fluently.