During the second term of IHTM, students choose two modules to study from the six options available. Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health, RMNCAH, is one of the modules, and these seminars focused on Infant & Child Health, led by Jane Crawley and Sophie Janet (IHTM 2015), and Women’s and Children’s Health in Humanitarian Settings, led by Sophie Janet.
The complex, hostile environment of a humanitarian crisis disproportionately affects the health and wellbeing of women and children, yet in 2021 there were 26 million women of reproductive age and 50 million children under the age of 5 living in such settings. During the seminars, students gained an understanding of the vulnerabilities faced by mothers, newborns, and children in these contexts, and examined possible strategies and best practices for addressing their health needs.
The seminar on Infant & Child Health used case studies to help the students think holistically about the factors that determine the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of infants and young children, and the intimate, two-way relationship that exists between a child and their environment.
Both seminars were interactive and drew on the knowledge and experience, not only of the session leads, but also the students, many of whom have first-hand experience of managing maternal and child health in humanitarian settings. Speaking about IHTM Jane Crawley said,
I thoroughly enjoy participating in this IHTM module, as the students have so much to contribute from work in their own settings. I also enjoy teaching alongside Sophie, who was one of my students back in 2015, in the first IHTM cohort. It’s a tremendous asset of the course to be able to draw on the wealth of experience of its alumni.”