Food and nutrition in emergencies! This definitely sounds like an important topic to most people, but what does it actually mean? This semester, I have had the privilege of taking FNH 490, a course which discusses and analyzes this exact issue. Interestingly enough, I signed up for this course on the very last day students could sign up or drop courses. A friend described the course and I really took an interest to it. After a few hours of internally debating whether it was a sound decision to take the course, I decided to sign up, not really knowing exactly what I was getting myself into. Low and behold, it has quickly become my favourite course of the term and I could not be happier with my decision to take the course.

The course theme is, of course, nutritional issues admist emergencies. I have learned about a variety of topics within this umbrella topic, such as malnutrition indicators and the range in types of interventions implemented worldwide during emergencies. Perhaps the most interesting part of the course though has been discussing fields and issues related to nutrition and emergencies, such as HIV and AIDS, monitoring and evaluation, food security, as well as maternal, infant and child nutrition. For instance, while learning about HIV and AIDS, I learned about the importance of ensuring food security and adequate nutrition. This is because antiretroviral drugs taken by someone HIV+ may need to be taken with food several times a day. If this person is food insecure or not able to meet their nutritional requirements, this can adversely affect the effectiveness of the antiretroviral drugs, and thereby adversely affect the individual’s health.

Furthermore, I have learned about the importance of WASH techniques within emergencies. WASH stands for “Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene.” Understanding and implementing WASH techniques may seem like common knowledge but it was interesting learning about the specific details as to why it is important and how it can be implemented in emergency situtations. For instance, our class learned about the “Tippy Tap” intervention, which entails putting together simple, commonly found items in order to develop a safe, reliable handwashing station that can be used by children and adults alike. In doing so, health benefits, such as decreased risks in the spread of diarrhea, can be reinforced and promote wellbeing.

In this way, the course has deepened my appreciation for the field of food security and has also taught me new connections that food security can have in various fields which may seem somewhat unrelated at first glance.