CURRICULUM VITAE - DR RUKHSANA HAIDER

Physician (MBBS from Pakistan, 1975), a Public Health Nutritionist (MSc, 1990 and PhD, 1998) from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, and an international Board certified lactation consultant (IBCLC, 1998, re-certified in 2008).

Currently

  • Senior Technical Adviser, Alive & Thrive Initiative of AED (USA) in Bangladesh

- providing advocacy, capacity building and networking for improving infant and young child feeding practices (IYCF) and child nutrition.

  • Chairperson, Training and Assistance for Health and Nutrition (TAHN) Foundation

- for improving infant and young child feeding and nutrition, adolescent and maternal nutrition in Bangladesh.

  • Independent public health consultant, providing technical assistance to international NGOs and UN agencies in South Asia

Formerly

  • Regional Adviser, Nutrition for Health and Development, at the World Health

Organization (WHO) South East Asia Regional Office, New Delhi, India (2001-2006).

  • Associate Chief of Party - Urban Family Health Partnership and John Snow Inc.

and Team Leader, Special Initiatives

  • Associate Scientist, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research,

Bangladesh (ICDDR,B).

Relevant Experience

  • Helped set up the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative in Bangladesh - was deputed from

ICDDR,B to Unicef for this purpose

  • Chairperson, Working Women Sub-committee of the Bangladesh Breastfeeding Foundation - obtained 16 weeks Maternity Leave in 2001
  • International trainer for Unicef and WHO since 1992, initially for the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) and the 40 hours Breastfeeding Counselling Course (BFC).
  • First to simplify and use the BFC for training community-based peer counsellors (papers published demonstrating effectiveness), replicated successfully in South Africa for counseling women who were HIV positive, and now adapted by BRAC, the largest NGO in the world
  • Organized, facilitated/ conducted the BFC in Bangladesh and Maldives, and the infant and young child feeding (IYCF) integrated counseling course in Nepal, Manila, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka on behalf of WHO.
  • Facilitated national workshops for developing national strategy for infant and young child feeding (based on the global strategy) - in Myanmar, Maldives, Indonesia, Bangladesh

Membership

  • Member of WABA's Women and Work, Mother Support and Gender Task Forces
  • International Advisory Council Member - WABA
  • Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for Infant and Young Child Feeding and Nutrition Research, Alive and Thrive, (for the Gates Foundation, USA)
  • International Society for Research on Human Milk and Lactation (ISRHML)
  • International Lactation Consultants Association, (ILCA), USA
  • Baby Milk Action, Cambridge, UK
  • Bangladesh Breastfeeding Foundation

Publications

  • Rasheed S, Haider R, Hassan N, Pachón H, Islam S, Jalal CSB, Sanghvi TG. Why Does Child Nutrition Deteriorate Rapidly Among Under Two’s? Using Qualitative Methods to Understand Community Perspectives on Complementary Feeding Practices in Bangladesh. Food and Nutrition Bulletin, 2011;32 (3):192-200.
  • Sanghvi TS and Haider R. Global expansion of nutrition programs. In: From One to Many. Scaling up health programs in low income countries. Eds Cash RA, Chowdhury AMR, Smith GB, Ahmed F, University Press Ltd, 2011, 183-203.
  • Haider R, Rasheed S, Sanghvi TG, Hassan N, Pachon H, Islam S, Jalal CSB. Breastfeeding in Infancy: Identifying the Program-Relevant Issues in Bangladesh. International Breastfeeding Journal 2010;5:21.
  • Haider R, Kabir I, Huttly SR, Ashworth A. Training peer counsellors to promote and support exclusive breastfeeding in Bangladesh. J Hum Lact 2002 Feb;18(1):7-12.
  • Haider R, Ashworth A, Kabir I, Huttly SRA. Effect of community-based peer counsellors on exclusive breastfeeding practices in Dhaka, Bangladesh: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet 2000;356:1643-47.
  • Haider R, Kabir I, Ashworth A. Are breastfeeding messages influencing mothers in Bangladesh? Results from an urban survey in Dhaka, Bangladesh. J Trop Pediatrics 1999;45:315-18.
  • Haider R, Kabir I, Hamadani J, Habte D. Reasons for failure of breastfeeding counselling; mothers’ perspectives in Bangladesh. Bull WHO 1997;75:191-6.
  • Haider R, Islam A, Kabir I, Habte D. Early complementary feeding is associated with low nutritional status of young infants recovering from diarrhoea. Journal of Tropical Pediatrics 1996;42:170-2.
  • Haider R, Islam A, Hamadani J, Amin NJ, Kabir I, Malek MA, Mahalanabis D, Habte D. Breastfeeding counselling in a diarrhoeal disease hospital. Bull WHO 1996;74:173-9.