Walaa Ammar Shehada
Status: PhD researcher
Walaa Ammar Shehada is a PhD researcher at Health and Demographic Research group at the University of Gent since 2020.
Walaa obtained her Master’s degree in Development studies with focus on Human Rights, Gender and Conflict from the ISS of Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands. She has been awarded The Wim Deetman Scholarship, which was designed to support students from developing countries who would like to study master’s degree in The Hague in the area of peace and justice. Her MA thesis focused its analysis on the influence of geo-political relations on humanitarian interventions, considering the case of food assistance toward the Palestinian refugees.
She has a background in qualitative research methods. Her PhD is focused on identifying the factors influencing decision-making in women’s access to breast cancer treatment and her spousal relationship, including those that are: rooted within the broader socio-political context; those linked to the social determinants of health; and those related to social cultural practices.
Her research interests include the link between health and human rights, gender, refugees in the context of conflict and complex emergency.
Walaa works with the UN World Health Organization as Monitoring, Advocacy and Communications Officer since 2012. Her work is focused on information management and evidence-based advocacy in the area of health and human rights during emergencies; both man-made conflicts and pandemics.