Aaron Wise

Food Security Analyst

• Led analysis of a joint WFP-Ministry of Agriculture national food security survey in Timor-Leste and developed strategic recommendations in consultation with key stakeholders for mitigating the impacts of food price inflation and drought.
• Implemented necessary updates to the backend Python source code for WFP Pacific's mVAM pipeline, ensuring continued smooth operations and food security data availability for WFP and its national government partners in the region.
• Coordinated food security analysis for rounds 7 and 8 of a joint WFP-FAO remote food security assessment in Myanmar, the results of which inform both organisations’ ongoing development and humanitarian operations.

• Supported several WFP country offices (COs) in the Asia Pacific region (Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Lao PDR, Philippines) in the design and operationalization of phone-based food security and livelihood monitoring systems (mVAM).
• Generated methodologies, tools, and analyses to support preparation of regional food security updates within the context of the global food and fuel crisis.
• Collaborated with WFP internal units – nutrition, cash-based transfers (CBT) and EPR – to support 1) integration of mVAM data into regional programming and 2) inter-unit assessments, beneficiary targeting and identification of optimal humanitarian response modalities.

• Provided technical and analytical support to WFP COs to inform targeting and prioritization decisions, including establishing the number of people in need and targeted, formulating targeting criteria and evaluating the pros and cons of different targeting options in line with WFP corporate guidance.

• Supervised staff engaged in VAM, GIS, and nutrition, as well as temporary technical experts brought in to support specialized assignments, for the effective implementation of the Country Strategic Plan.
• Supported the development, deployment and utilization of PRISM with the National Committee for Disaster Management, Humanitarian Response Forum, Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre, and other stakeholders.

• Provided i) technical assistance to COVID-19 remote food security/essential needs assessment activities in Philippines, Pacific, and Myanmar COs; ii) strategic guidance in Philippines to ensure assessment outputs are tailored to strengthen a core Government social protection system (4Ps) and CO’s value proposition as a technical partner.
• Coordinated development of 2020-2022 RBB RAM strategy and led a series of resource mobilisation efforts targeting emergent food security issues with ECHO (urban EPR), IKI (climate change), and IPP (remote sensing/climate).
• Led RAM technical assistance to CLEAR+ activities in Nepal, Afghanistan, Lao PDR and Philippines and regional market monitoring activities.

• Established a remote food security and nutrition monitoring system (mVAM) for areas of the country affected by chronic food insecurity, climate variability, and recent natural disasters.
• Analysed FSNMS data for South Sudan CO to assess WFP programme targeting effectiveness as part of a 3-month TDY to WFP’s Regional Bureau for East and Central Africa (RBN).

• Conceptualised and developed an automated solution to generate monthly mVAM bulletins for Yemen and Syria COs (including data extraction, storage, analysis, and visualisation).
• Provided strategic guidance to the development of HQ RAM’s Hunger Map Live and coordinated a CLEAR with the Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

• Led the strategic design of a $1.2M DFID-funded project for the Bangladesh CO to strengthen Government’s capacity for generating and utilising data on social safety net programmes.
• Managed data analytics and report development for three rounds of remote food security monitoring surveys in Papua New Guinea.
• Developed a sustainable, scalable, and equity-based targeting mechanism for the joint WFP/Ministry of Education school feeding programme in Bhutan.
• Coordinated WFP RAM activities for the Rohingya refugee emergency in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh during following the initial influx in 2017.
• Conducted support mission to Afghanistan CO to review RAM activities and develop recommendations for future priorities in preparation for new Country Strategic Plan.
• Implemented the Fiji Food Security and Livelihoods Recovery Needs Assessment that Government and development partners used to design and target recovery programmes following Tropical Cyclone Winston.

• Designed and implemented a school feeding baseline survey for WFP’s USDA-funded school meals programme in Guinea-Bissau.

• Analysed data from the 2015 Southeast and Rakhine State Food Security and Poverty Survey for incorporation into Myanmar’s 2016 Food Security Atlas.

• Finalised the 2013 Bangladesh Urban Slum Survey data analysis and report; presented key findings to high-level Government stakeholders.

Nutrition Consultant

• Supported UNICEF's emergency-prone offices with technical and strategic guidance in the development of nutrition information systems that provided decision makers with timely, relevant, and actionable data.
• Led UNICEF’s emergency nutrition surge support in Tacloban City during the immediate aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan (Philippines).

• Conducted trend analyses to identify the main determinants of inequitable maternal and child health (MNCH) outcomes and utilisation of services from the 2000, 2005, and 2010 Cambodia Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS).

• Supported development of a food security and nutrition early warning system to increase the Government’s capacity for predicting and responding to natural disasters.

• Supported development and implementation of therapeutic feeding programme (TFP) monitoring system with Ethiopian Regional Health Bureaus (RHBs) and NGOs.
• Monitored TFP sites throughout Oromia and Amhara regions to assess protocol compliance for service delivery and to identify constraints affecting performance.
• Coordinated with RHBs, NGOs, and UNICEF to fill gaps revealed by TFP monitoring system in logistics and commodities (essential drugs, supplies, etc.).

• Provided technical support to Multiple Indicator Monitoring Survey that UNICEF implemented in collaboration with the Central Statistical Office.
• Analysed nutrition data from the 2008 Combined Micronutrient and Nutrition Surveillance Survey in cooperation with Zimbabwe’s Food and Nutrition Council.

Survey & Data Consultant

• Developed methodology to document the existing (and historical) disparities within key MIYCN outcome indicators for Cambodia, Viet Nam and Lao PDR.
• Analysed available MICS and DHS data (2000 – 2021) for each country to generate equity-centric recommendations for increasing access and utilization of services among vulnerable groups.

• Analysed the 2015-16 Namibia Household Income and Expenditure Survey (NHIES) to describe household consumption of fortifiable commodities (maize, wheat, millet) according to various demographic characteristics (region, wealth, ethnicity, etc.).
• Developed tailored scripts to extract and match food groups from NHIES Daily Record Book with Food Consumption Tables for calculating micronutrient consumption using FAO’s ADePT software.

• Developed hard-copy and Flash-based tools to facilitate use of Ministry of Planning’s household poverty database (IDPoor) for the UN and humanitarian partners.
• Coordinated review of all household poverty database products with stakeholders to formulate recommendations for improving their design and future development.

• Coordinated a multi-stakeholder household survey to assess the relief and recovery needs of rural populations affected by the 2011 floods in rural Cambodia.

• Coordinated the finalisation of the Liberia National Micronutrient Survey conducted jointly by UNICEF and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
• Analysed blood serum data using techniques drawn from current research to develop more accurate prevalence estimates of iron and vitamin A deficiencies in children.

• Coordinated a household nutrition survey to assess the effectiveness of WFP’s “Support to Mother and Child” project.

• Coordinated two nutrition survey in South Sudan, the results of which Concern Worldwide used to authorise emergency programme activities.

Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine

International Health and Development

Washington University in St. Louis

Chemistry