Gender Equity & Health: A Discussion with Dr. Anita Raj

Gender inequities and gender based violence pose a major threat to the health and full social and economic development of women and girls across the globe. Join Dr. Anita Raj to discuss the issues being tackled by the UC San Diego Center on Gender Equity and Health.

Thursday, March 9, 2017

Geisel Library, Seuss Room

5:00 – 6:00 PM

Anita Raj, PhD, is a Professor of Medicine and Global Public Health and Founding Director of the Center on Gender Equity and Health at the University of California San Diego. Dr. Raj is a developmental psychologist and public health researcher with more than 20 years of experience conducting studies in the areas reproductive, maternal, neonatal and child health (RMNCH), sexual and reproductive health (SRH) including HIV, gender-based violence, substance use, engaging men and boys in SRH and RMNCH interventions, and the health effects of child marriage and adolescent motherhood. Her research has focused on South Asia, the United States, Russia, and more recently, West and Central Africa. This work includes qualitative and quantitative studies to support intervention development and implementation, as well as efficacy and effectiveness trials to evaluate behavioral interventions. She has served as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on more than 45 grants from federal funding agencies including NIH [NIMH, NICHD, NIDA, NIAAA], CDC, SAMHSA, and the Office of Minority Health; from multilateral organizations such as UNICEF and UNDP, and from foundations including the Lucile and David Packard Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, United for UNICEF, and Kaiser Permanente Community Benefits. She has authored or co-authored 150+ peer-reviewed publications from these studies, including publications on the public health impact of girl child marriage featured in the Lancet, Archives of Pediatric Medicine, and the International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Her current research on child marriage includes qualitative study of married and unmarried girls and their decision-makers in Ethiopia and India; analysis of RMNCH+A programming with considerations of child marriage and gender based violence in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India; and development and evaluation of health vocational training for girls to increase girl education, delay child marriage and vitalize the rural health service sector in Northern Nigeria.

This free event is open to the public. For more information, contact Serafin Raya at s1raya@ucsd.edu.