Assiut, Egypt

Background

The GEAS site in Egypt is based in the Al-Fath and adjacent El Walideya communities of Assiut, Upper Egypt.

Two out of every five residents are living below the poverty line.

Research Team - Assiut University.

Omaima El-Gibaly, Primary Investigator

Dr. Omaima El-Gibaly, MD MPH, is a Professor of Public Health & Community Medicine at Assiut University in Upper Egypt. In addition to her teaching, mentoring and research, Dr. El-Gibaly serves as the current Principal Investigator on an institutional collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health to "Building Reproductive Health Capacity to Serve the People of Upper Egypt"  where the primary objective is to foster, strengthen and enhance the current skill sets of a cadre of young faculty to train and strengthen skills of medical officers in the Ministry of Health of the Assiut Governorate to deliver public health service to the population.  Recognized for her leadership role in women's health and population health, Dr. El-Gibaly was invited to take part in the Population Council's annual strategic plan of action as well as being appointed to the National Women's Council in Assiut. Contact Dr. El-Gibaly.

Ghada Al-Attar, Field Coordinator

Ghada Al-Attar is a lecturer at Public Health & Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University. She graduated from the medical school (2000) and got her master's (2004) and PhD (2009) after being appointed at Public Health & Community Medicine Department. She conducted four policy communication workshops in collaboration with Population Reference Bureau addressing reproductive health. She was awarded a three months postdoctoral fellowship at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University in Syracuse, NY, USA (2010).  In 2013- 2014, she was awarded a one year postdoctoral fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA, where she attended some classes about longitudinal data analysis. She attended training workshops about quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis at the Social Research Center at the AUC, and at the Population Council in Cairo and at the Department of Public Health at Assiut, Egypt. Her research interests are in female genital mutilation/circumcision, reproductive health, family planning, quality of health services, teen childbirth, community participation, marital relationship quality, and cost effectiveness analysis. Ghada will be one of two field coordinators for Phase 1 of the GEAS in Assiut.

Manal Darwish, Field Coordinator

Manal Darwish, PhD, MSc, MBBCh is a medical doctor by training received her Msc Public Health in Developing Countries from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in 1999, and her PhD from Assiut University in 2009. She is the coordinator and field supervisor for a project entitled "Evaluation of Enter-Educate Initiative in Community Schools and Kindergartens in Assiut, Sohag, and Qena Governorates--Upper Egypt” in collaboration with Egypt Red Crescent and UNICEF, July 2011 (quantitative). She is the PI and co-PI for several qualitative and quantitative projects related to adolescent sexual and reproductive health in Egypt. Manal has also attended several international and national training workshops related to reproductive health such as "Capacity Building Workshop to Enhance Research and Programs on Youth Reproductive Health in Egypt"; a training-of-trainers workshop on The Role of Medical Practitioners in Eliminating Female Genital Mutilation/Circumcision and Stopping Medicalization; and a course entitled: “Reproductive Health & Development: Analytic Skills for Policy and Programs” held at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Manal will be one of two field coordinators for Phase 1 of the GEAS in Assiut.