Susan Purdin, RN, MPH, is Senior Technical Advisor on Reproductive Health at the International Rescue Committe
Susan Purdin, RN, MPH, is Senior Technical Advisor on Reproductive Health (covering safe motherhood, gender-based violence, family planning, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections) at the International Rescue Committee's global headquarters in New York. In this position, she provides guidance on projects addressing the needs of persons affected by armed conflict in 25 countries around the world. In addition, to her work with the IRC she holds an adjunct faculty position in Columbia University's Forced Migration and Health Program, teaching courses on program planning, reproductive health and HIV.
Her career has focused on public health in the international arena since 1986. She is internationally recognized as an expert in the provision of humanitarian assistance in general and in reproductive health in particular. Ms Purdin led the development of phase one of the Sphere Project which fostered consensus among international NGOs on minimum standards for humanitarian assistance. In 1999 she received the Global Health Council award for "Best Practice in the Field of Global Health" for her work providing field-based, on-site, technical assistance to reproductive health projects in conflict settings. Additionally, her work focuses on developing the capacity of program staff to collect and use data to provide good quality evidence-based services for populations served by the IRC worldwide.
She has worked in: Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Lebanon, Liberia, Macedonia, Malawi, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Rwanda, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Zambia.
She is a member of the American Public Health Association, the Global Health Council, the Reproductive Health Response in Conflict Consortium and the Interagency Working Group on Reproductive Health in Refugee Situations.