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Chiara
Altare
,
PhD

Assistant Scientist
Chiara Altare

Departmental Affiliations

Primary
Division
Health Systems

Contact Info

615 N. Wolfe Street, Room E8534
Baltimore
Maryland
21205
US        

Research Interests

humanitarian emergencies; conflict; epidemics; refugee; population displacement; public health; communicable diseases; indicators; monitoring and evaluation; epidemiology
Experiences & Accomplishments
Education
PhD
University of Louvain
2016
MSPH
University of Louvain
2012
MA
University of Turin
2005
Overview
My work at the Center for Humanitarian Health focuses on three main areas:
1) Operational monitoring and measurement methods for humanitarian settings (I have been working with WHO’s EMRO on implementing a regional monitoring framework for emergencies; and on public health indicators adapted to humanitarian contexts);
2) Infectious diseases outbreaks and response in crises (I worked in WHO’s monitoring and evaluation teams for the 10th Ebola outbreak in DRC, and for the COVID-19 pandemic, and investigated other disease outbreaks in refugee settings; I have led five case studies on the direct and indirect effects of COVID-19 in humanitarian settings; investigated Rapid Response Teams for Cholera); and
3) Health service provision in humanitarian settings (health service delivery in DRC, and nutrition program adaptations during COVID in South Sudan).

Before joining the Center for Humanitarian Health, Dr Altare worked at Action Against Hunger (ACF) as Senior Research Advisor; and as Research fellow at the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED). Dr Altare has 15 years of experience and has conducted field work in conflict and displacement settings in Africa, Asia, central America and Eastern Mediterranean region.
Select Publications
Selected publications
  • Altare C., Kostandova N., OKeeffe J., Hayek H., Fawad M., Khalifa A., Spiegel P., “COVID-19 epidemiology and changes in health service utilization in Azraq and Zaatari refugee camps in Jordan: a retrospective cohort study”, Plos Medicine, May 10, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003993
  • Altare C., Castelgrande V., Tosha M., Malembaka E. B., Spiegel P., “From insecurity to health service delivery: pathways and system response strategies in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo”, Global Health: Science and Practice, Dec 31, 2021, 9(4):915-927; https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-21-00107
  • Sidker M., Altare C., Doocy S., Trowbridge D., Kaur G., Kaushal N., Lyles E., Lantagne D., Azman A., Spiegel P., “Case-area targeted preventive interventions to interrupt cholera transmission: current implementation practices and lessons learned”, Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases, Dec 17, 2021, 15(12): e0010042; https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010042
  • Altare C., Bwenge E., Tosha M., Hook C., Ba H., Bikoro S., Scognamiglio T., Tappis H., Pfaffmann J., Balaluka G., Boerma T., Spiegel P., “Health services for women, children and adolescents in conflict-affected settings: experience from North and South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo”, May 27, 2020, Conflict and Health, Vol 14 (31), doi: 10.1186/s13031-020-00265-1
  • Altare C., Delbiso T., Guha-Sapir D. (2016), “Child wasting in emergency pockets: a meta-analysis of small-scale surveys from Ethiopia”, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Jan 28, 2016, Vol 13(2), 178, doi: 10.3390/ijerph13020178