Photos: Dr. Kedir and team piloting a detailed water insecurity module in May, for integration into Haramaya University projects.
Dr. Kedir (MPH, PhD) is one of our newest HWISE members, and is Assistant Professor at the the College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University in Eastern Ethiopia. Kedir studies the relationship between of exposure to infectious diseases and epidemiology of under-nutrition/food insecurity in the region around Haramaya. He is also site coordinator for Demographic and Health Surveys efforts, leading a large team and data collection and management for over 50,000 households and 300,000 people.
Kedir is currently working closely with Alex Brewis (HWISE steering committee) to integrate the HWISE scale and other water measures (including microbial tests of water quality) into the Haramaya project, both in smallholder farm households and in in the city of Harar. This will allow collection of much-needed longitudinal data on how dynamic interactions of water-food insecurity affects household health through time (such as across seasons). Rainy season data collection is beginning now, and dry season data collection will begin in December.
Some recent publications include:
Roba, K. T., O’Connor, T. P., O’Brien, N. M., Aweke, C. S., Kahsay, Z. A., Chisholm, N., & Lahiff, E. (2019). Seasonal variations in household food insecurity and dietary diversity and their association with maternal and child nutritional status in rural Ethiopia. Food Security, 1-14.
Roba, K. T., O’Connor, T. P., Belachew, T., & O’Brien, N. M. (2016). Infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices among mothers of children aged 6–23 months in two agro-ecological zones of rural Ethiopia. Int J Nutr Food Sci, 5(3), 185-194.
Roba, K. T., O’Connor, T. P., Belachew, T., & O’Brien, N. M. (2015). Seasonal variation in nutritional status and anemia among lactating mothers in two agro-ecological zones of rural Ethiopia: A longitudinal study. Nutrition, 31(10), 1213-1218.
He can be contacted at Kedir.t.roba@gmail.com