CE-DAT - Centre for research on the epidemiology of disasters

Prof. Debarati Guha-Sapir

Professor, Director of CRED

Debarati Guha-Sapir is Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) and Professor at the University of Louvain's School of Public Health in Brussels, Belgium. She holds an Adjunct Professorship at Tulane University Medical Centre, New Orleans, for Health and Humanitarian Aid. Trained in Calcutta University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Louvain, she holds a Ph.D in epidemiology. Since 1984, she has been involved in field research and training in emergency and humanitarian aid issues, working closely with World Health Organisation, UNHCR , UNDP and the European Commission in various regions of the world including China, Sudan, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, the Great Lakes, Somalia and Central America. She is particularly interested in health systems research, epidemiology in unstable situations and international policy related to relief and post conflict transition.

Olivier Degomme

CE-DAT Coordinator

Olivier Degomme is a Research Fellow at CRED. He obtained a medical degree from the University of Ghent, an MPH from the University of Louvain (UCL) and is currently a PhD candidate at the UCL. He has been working at CRED since 2003 where he has carried out research on excess mortality, particularly in Iraq and Darfur. He worked together with the WHO on the 2005 Mortality Survey in Darfur and with UNHCR in analyzing data collection systems in refugee settings. His special interests are public health and epidemiology in complex emergencies.

David Hargitt

CE-DAT Data Manager

David Hargitt is the Data Manager for the  Complex Emergency Database. He is in charge of data collection for CE-DAT, NGO and intergovernmental contacts, and also coordinates workshops and conferences. He did his Bachelor's degree in Biology at Hartwick College, New York,  a Master's in Human Ecology at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), and a Master's in Cartography and Remote Sensing at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB).

Olivia D'Aoust

Research Fellow

Olivia D’Aoust is a Research Fellow at CRED. She holds a Master's in Economics from the University of Louvain (UCL) and is currently enrolled in a Master's in Demography at the UCL. During her studies, she worked on the impact of epidemics on economic behaviours  and is particularly interested in econometrics, public health and development economics.

Nita Maria Paliakara

Health & Nutrition Analyst

Nita Paliakara is a Health and Nutrition Analyst at CRED. She has her Master level degree in International Food Science and Nutrition from the University of Ghent and Bachelor level in Food, Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of Bombay. She worked with the WHO in the area of Public Health Nutrition focusing on infant nutrition and micronutrients in Switzerland and Vietnam. Her research interests are in the area of quality of early nutrition as a determinant on health and on growth outcomes in both developed and developing countries.

Manuel Albela Miranda

IT Specialist

Manuel is an IT Specialist at CRED. In 2008, he worked for the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for Development (AECID) in Guatemala on their GIS system and assisting local communities on how to use technologies in a productive and sustainable way.  He also worked on the formulation, monitoring and evaluation of different development and emergency projects and programs. He obtained a Technical Engineer degree in Computer Science from the Universidad de A Coruña, Spain, and a Master’s degree in Engineer Applied to Cooperation for Development from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain.