RAISSA SORGHO

Dr. sc. hum.
Lead Researcher

Dr. Raissa Sorgho is global health specialists with over 10 years of experience in research and development. She has been affiliated with the Heidelberg Institute of Global Health since 2014. She holds a Bachelor of Science in biology and health sociology, a Master of Science in International Health, and a Doctorate in Global Health. Her expertise spans from health (nutrition and heat) to climate change (adaptation and sustainability) and policy (review and implementation), with an emphasis on evidence-based decision making using mixed-method research. Her professional experiences ranges from designing systematic literature reviews and consolidating recommendations for USAID in Nigeria and the Philippines, to the analysis of households’ preferences for the reduction of greenhouse gas emission in Sweden, France and, Norway, to conducting randomized control trials on climate sensitive nutrition in Burkina Faso and Kenya.

Education

Doctorate in Global Health Heidelberg University, Germany

Master of Science in International Health Heidelberg University, Germany

Bachelor of Science in Biology & Health Sociology Bucknell University, USA

Human Physiology and Nutrition L’Université François-Rabelais, France
 

Publications

Sorgho, R.; Bhatt, M.; Danquah, I. Sauerborn, R. (2022) Institutional Barriers to Climate Change and Health Adaptation in Burkina Faso. Climate and Development DOI: 10.1080/17565529.2022.2125786

Agure E.; Kihagi G.W.; Muok O.M.R,; Hansen L-S,; Mank I.; Sorgho R.; Danquah I. Adherence of dietary practices among under-fives in Kenya to the national food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG): A scoping review" Public Health Nutrition 2021 (Under review)

Hansen L-S.; Sorgho R.; Mank I.; Schwerdtle P. N.; Agure E,; Bärnighausen T., Danquah I. Home gardening in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review on practices and nutrition outcomes in rural Burkina Faso and Kenya Food and Energy Security 2021 https://doi.org/10.1002/fes3.388

Osei T.B.; Isabel Mank I.; Sorgho R,; Schwerdtle P.N,; Santos-Hövener C,: Florian Fischer F,; Razum O,Danquah I; Etiological research on migrants’ health in Germany: A systematic literature review”  European Journal of Public Health 2021 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-058712

Mank, I., Sorgho, R., Zerbo, F. et al. ALIMUS—We are feeding! Study protocol of a multi-center, cluster-randomized controlled trial on the effects of a home garden and nutrition counseling intervention to reduce child undernutrition in rural Burkina Faso and Kenya. Trials 23, 449 (2022). DOI: 10.1186/s13063-022-06423-5

Sorgho R, Jungmann M, Souares A, Danquah I, Sauerborn R. Climate Change, Health Risks, and Vulnerabilities in Burkina Faso: A Qualitative Study on the Perceptions of National Policymakers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(9):4972. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094972

Sorgho R, Quiñonez CAM, Louis VR, Winkler V, Dambach P, Sauerborn R, Horstick O. Addendum: Sorgho, R., et al. Climate Change Policies in 16 West African Countries: A Systematic Review of Adaptation with a Focus on Agriculture, Food Security, and Nutrition. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 8897. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2021; 18(3):945. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18030945

Sorgho, R.; Quiñonez, C.A.M.; Louis, V.R.; Winkler, V.; Dambach, P.; Sauerborn, R.; Horstick, O. Climate Change Policies in 16 West African Countries: A Systematic Review of Adaptation with a Focus on Agriculture, Food Security, and Nutrition. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 8897.https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17238897

Yeboah E, Bunker A, Dambach P, Mank I, Sorgho R, Sié A, et al. TransformativeAdaptations for Health Impacts of Climate Change in Burkina Faso and Kenya. In: Leal Filho W, Ogugu N, Adelake L, Ayal D, da Silva I, editors. African Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2020. p. 1-16.

Sorgho, R.; Mank, I.; Kagoné, M.; Souares, A.; Danquah, I.; Sauerborn, R. “We Will Always Ask Ourselves the Question of How to Feed the Family”: Subsistence Farmers’ Perceptions on Adaptation to Climate Change in Burkina Faso. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 7200. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17197200

Karst IG, Mank I, Traoré I, Sorgho R, Stückemann K-J, Simboro S, Sié A, Franke J,  Sauerborn R (2020). Estimating Yields of Household Fields in Rural Subsistence Farming Systems to Study Food Security in Burkina Faso. Remote Sens. 12(11), 1717. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12111717

Sorgho R, Jonas F, Simboro S, Barteit S, Sauerborn R. (2018) Utilizing remote sensing at a subsistence farming level to explore child undernutrition in the context of climate change. In: Kallel A., Ksibi M., Ben Dhia H., Khélifi N. (eds) Recent Advances in Environmental Science from the Euro-Mediterranean and Surrounding Regions. EMCEI 2017. Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation (IEREK Interdisciplinary Series for Sustainable Development). Springer, Cham

Sorgho R, Franke J, Simboro S, Barteit S, Phalkey R, Sauerborn R (2017) Linking Weather Data, Satellite Imagery and Field Observations to Household Food Production and Child under Nutrition: An Exploratory Study from a Subsistence Farming Village in Burkina Faso. Universal J Public Hlth 5(5): 256-270

Sorgho R, Franke J, Simboro S, Phalkey R, Sauerborn R (2016) NUTRition and CLIMate (NUTRICLIM): investigating the relationship between climate variables and childhood malnutrition through agriculture, an exploratory study in Burkina Faso. Public Health Reviews. Special Edition "Climate Change and Health". Pro-cedings from the COP21 Side Event "Healthy Lives on a Healthy Planet": 51-56.

Presentation Invitations

COP26 United Nations Conference of Parties: German Blue Zone Policymaker Pavilion – Oral presentation “The Role of Government in climate and nutrition: studies of adaptation across 16 west African countries”  – Glasgow Scotland, October 31 to November 12 2021

TropenTag: Toward Shifting Paradigms In Agriculture For A Healthy And Sustainable Future – Video presentation "Home Gardening for Climate Change-resilience: Co-designing a Nutrition-sensitive Intervention in Rural Kenya" - Hohenheim Germany, September 15-17 2021  

Agriculture, Nutrition and Health (ANH) 6^th Academic Week – Poster presentation “ Home gardening and nutrition councelling in rural Kenya: A qualitative study from local perspectives” – London United Kingdom June 20 – July 02 2021

November 2017: Springer Nature: Euro-Med Conference for Environmental Integration – Souse Tunisia                              

October 2017: 4^th World Conference on Climate Change – Rome Italy

June 2017: 11th European Nutrition and Dietetics Conference – Madrid Spain                                                                                                             

September 2016: International Society of for Environmental Epidemiology – Rome Italy                                                        

December 2015: COP21 United Nations Conference Site Event: Our Planet Our Health – Paris France                                  

November 2015: World Health Summit 2015: Climate and Health Plenary Session – Berlin Germany                                    

September 2015: DAAD Franco-German Research: Challenges of Field Research – Paris France                                           

July 2015: Center for Health Research: 15th Anniversary of Research Center - Kossi Burkina Faso

Awards

DAAD German Academic Exchange Service : Research Grant Scholarship (2019)

Stiftung Fiat Panis GRANT : Doctoral Research Financing (2018)

Ruprecht-Karls-Universitat-Heidelberg MScIH Best Thesis Award (2017)

DAAD Grant "Dialogue Franco-Allemand Entre Chercheurs" (2015)

Posse Foundation Full Tuition Leadership Scholarship (2010 – 2014)

Virginia School League of Academic Excellence Award (2008 – 2009)