Dr Natasha Howard
AB MSc DrPH FHEA
Assistant Professor
Global Health and Conflict
Before joining LSHTM in 2005, Natasha was reproductive health technical officer for WHO country office in Myanmar, focusing on maternal and newborn health initiatives, and worked with HealthNet TPO in Afghanistan researching malaria in pregnancy. Prior to this, Natasha set up a malaria control programme for Population Services International (PSI) in Myanmar, conducting vector, socio-economic research and marketing research and developing pre-packaged malaria diagnostic kits and mefloquine-artesunate treatment packs for use by private general practitioners and worked in TB treatment, obstetrics, and community development in Jordan. She received a bachelor's in international development from University of California at Davis and an MSc (public health for development) and a DrPH, focussing on malaria control for Afghans, from LSHTM.
Affiliations
Centres
Teaching
Natasha has organised and tought on several modules including PHM207 Health Care Evaluation, PHM101 Basic Epidemiology, PHM209/GH1503 Globalisation and Health, and PHM214 Conflict and Health. She coordinated development of, and served as a course director for, the MSc in Global Health Policy (2011-2013).
She contributes regularly to teaching materials, particularly for distance learning, having co-authored two chapters for the 2017 second edition of the Health Care Evaluation textbook, co-authored the 2011 second edition of the Introduction to Epidemiology textbook, and edited and co-authored the 2012 first edition of the Conflict and Health textbook.
Natasha accepts approximately one new PhD/DrPH student per year, with research interests in health needs and services provision for traumatised/marginalised communities (e.g. those affected by conflict, violence, and abuse). Natasha has adopted an 'inclusion rider' for fair inclusion of women and men of colour in all her research projects.
Research
Natasha is director of the LSHTM Security, Conflict, and Health Research (SCaHR) programme. This multidisciplinary programme draws on theories and methodologies from international relations, organisational and healthcare management, social psychology, and clinical and social epidemiology to engage in theoretical, empirical and policy-relevant research into the relationship between health and security and health-related issues in settings affected by political conflict and violence.
Most of her research is in under-resourced and conflict-affected situations. Current research includes immunisation provision in low-income urban areas and slums, HPV vaccine dosing in LMICs, and exploring the health-seeking experiences of women affected by FGM in the UK.
Recent global work involved examining efforts to strengthen national immunisation decision-making, helping coordinate the ebola vaccine clinical trial in Sierra Leone, exploring the health systems effects of the 'migration crisis' in Europe and Southeast Asia. Within the UK, she completed a Scottish government funded scoping study of European responses to female genital mutilation with the Scottish Refugee Council and an ESRC-funded evaluation of perpetrator programmes for domestic violence in the UK with colleagues from London Metropolitan University and Durham University.
