Professional Affiliation

Ph.D. Candidate, University of California, Berkeley

Expert Bio

Reid Hamel is a demographer and food security analyst completing her Ph.D. in Demography at U.C. Berkeley. Her dissertation deals with the appropriate incorporation of voluntary family planning services into social safety net programs which aim to advance food security and resilience in Tajikistan and Niger. She recently designed and taught a new, intensive course, Global Population Growth and Food Security, at Middlebury College. She was previously an Associate Director of the Save the Children Dept. of Hunger and Livelihoods where she led research design and monitoring and evaluation strategy across a global food security and financial services portfolio. Prior to joining Save the Children, she was an Economic Development Program Associate at The Asia Foundation and a Peace Corps Volunteer in Azerbaijan. She holds an M.A. in Demography from U.C. Berkeley, an Ed.M. in International Education Policy from Harvard, and a B.A. in International Studies from Middlebury College.

Wilson Center Project

"Food insecurity and social safety net investments in Tajikistan: Is there an end game?"

Project Summary

Over a quarter of Tajik children are stunted due to chronic food insecurity. Early childhood malnutrition leads to severe and irreversible physical and cognitive deficits which persist into adulthood and are linked to lower educational outcomes, reduced employment and earnings, and increased morbidity and mortality.

This project investigates USAID food security strategy in Tajikistan through Feed the Future and Food for Peace programming, documenting current investment levels from each funding stream. It further seeks to identify areas of potential coordination or complementarity between Tajikistan’s new national safety net program, supported by the World Bank, and the more targeted food security investments of Feed the Future and Food for Peace. It deals with population structure and growth explicitly, projecting potential food security investment streams over a 20 year horizon under different scenarios of family planning program efforts and, thus, of population growth.

 

Major Publications

Women at Work: Good for the Economy, the Family, and the Future, In Asia, The Blog of the Asia Foundation, 3/07/12

What Does 7 Billion Look Like for India and China?, In Asia, The Blog of the Asia Foundation, 11/09/11

Waves of Rohingya Refugees Highlight Refugee Problem Across Asia, In Asia, The Blog of the Asia Foundation, 6/20/12