The Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs innovates solutions to complex humanitarian challenges through collaborative research and exploration. Visiting Research Fellows, Dr. Lynne Jones and Dr. Asmamaw Sisay, have implemented a parenting program for women and men in countries around the world. Their training program for parents is a result of their research with the Institute.
The first iterations of the parenting programme were developed by Lynne Jones and
Asmamaw Yigeremu (two of this chapter’s co-authors) and delivered over Zoom during the
COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 to teenage Venezuelan refugee mothers living in Peru. Since
then, it has been delivered in Northern Bosnia, Northern Ethiopia, Venezuela, Guatemala
and Kenya. This programme came out of years of work with mothers and infants in refugee
settings and post-conflict zones, where stress, displacement and survival pressures affect
both early physical and mental development. The core aim has always been to support
responsive caregiving and strengthen maternal confidence, even in extremely adverse
circumstances.
The purpose of these interventions above all is to enhance the physical and mental health
and well-being of mothers and infants. Fathers are also welcome. The trainings have a
holistic approach, educating mothers on key physical health as well as mental health issues
while recognising their interconnections. For example, breast feeding is good for nutrition
and child health even as it fosters love and warm communication between mother and child.
We hope to improve the well-being of both mother and child by encouraging loving,
responsive and healthy parenting. The training also provides a learning opportunity for local
health and community staff, who can observe the training and replicate it with other groups,
as can the mothers themselves.
The programme is delivered through interactive group discussions and play between
mothers and their infants and babies under three years of age, in 90-minute sessions. Each
session addresses a key theme related to parenting and the physical and mental health of
mother and child, and includes discussions with the mother on what she can do herself, and
with her family and community, to improve it.
"We want to show mothers how their own lovely interactions actually foster each area of development: language, loving and responsive communication, physical development, and loving attachment."
"Climate change disproportionately impacts women's health by exacerbating existing gender inequalities, poverty, and the risk to reproductive health."
Dr. Lynne Jones OBE FRCPsych is a child and adolescent psychiatrist, writer, and relief worker, and an honorary associate professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. For more than 25 years she has established and run mental health programmes in areas of conflict and natural disaster — including the Balkans, East and West Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Haiti, and Central America — and she consults for the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and UNHCR.
She is a co-founder and course director of the Mental Health in Complex Emergencies programme at the IIHA. Her books include The Migrant Diaries (Refuge Press, 2021), Outside the Asylum: A Memoir of War, Disaster and Humanitarian Psychiatry (2018), and Then They Started Shooting: Children of the Bosnian War and the Adults They Become. She was appointed OBE in 2001 for her mental health work in conflict-affected Central Europe. Learn more about Dr. Lynne Jones.
Dr. Asmamaw Sisay Yigeremu, MD, MAHA, MSc, is a general practitioner with more than 30 years of experience as a clinician, manager, and trainer working with rural and Indigenous communities in low-resource settings — including Ethiopia, Haiti, Mozambique, and Belize. He specialises in building emergency and primary healthcare services from the ground up for refugee and conflict-affected populations, and has volunteered with Doctors of the World UK.
At the IIHA he co-leads the research initiative Enhancing Maternal and Infant Wellbeing in Adversity, Including Families on the Move alongside Dr. Lynne Jones. Learn more about Dr. Asmamaw Sisay.
Assistant Provost for Corporate Relations at Fordham University
Holly Curtis is an accomplished education leader, currently serving as the Assistant Provost for Corporate Relations at Fordham University. In this role, she fosters partnerships between academia and industry, driving innovative collaborations and advancing strategic goals. Prior to this, Holly was the Chief of Staff at Ascend Public Charter Schools, where she oversaw strategic planning for one of New York’s largest charter networks, and she also led MBA Admissions at NYU Stern School of Business.
With a strong background in strategic leadership, education management, program development, and recruitment, Holly’s career began in international development with Pencils of Promise in Laos. Her work there shaped her expertise in strategic planning and talent development.
Holly holds an MBA from NYU Stern and a BA in International Political Economy from Fordham University. She is deeply committed to advancing diversity and inclusion, and is a certified administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). She is also an alumna of NYU’s Global Inclusive Leadership Management Institute.
Helen Hamlyn Humanitarian Fellow and Global Program Director
Martine van der Does is a Dutch national and humanitarian expert with over 15 years of international experience. With a background in architecture she started her career working on humanitarian shelter at Delft University of Technology but soon moved to the field with Médécins sans Frontières (MSF) as a Construction Logistician. In 2010 Martine joined the Netherlands Foreign service where she worked in the Africa Department, Stabilisation and Humanitarian Aid Department and served as a Diplomat in Afghanistan and Jordan. In 2018 joined the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Myanmar where she worked in remote areas on protection and water and habitat issues. Until recently Martine was the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Netherlands Government in Amman, Jordan.
Martine is academically involved as a lecturer at Delft University in the Netherlands and Fordham University in New York. In the past years she also ran the prestigious International Diploma in Humanitarian Assistance (IDHA) as a Course Director in Geneva. Martine holds a Master of Science Degree in Architecture from Delft University of Technology and a Masters of Arts Degree in International Humanitarian Action from Fordham University. In her time off she is an active cyclist, runner, and enjoys ultraraces.
She accepted a position as Helen Hamlyn Humanitarian Fellow at the IIHA in 2024.
Seriously considering the IDHA and want to learn more? Book an appointment with Martine on the left.
Martine hosts Corporate Humanity, a podcast produced by Fordham University’s Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs.
Master of Science in Architecture (MSc) and Master of Arts in International Humanitarian Action (MIHA) and IDHA 24
With the IIHA since: 2008
Current courses: IDHA and non-academic courses
In my free time I enjoy: Traveling, mountains, playing guitar and endurance sports such as long (distance) running, cycling, skiing and swimming.
“In a world you can be anything, be kind to yourself and the people you work for and with. ”