Join us for an engaging and informative webinar on the critical role of reproductive health in refugee populations. Our distinguished speakers—Dr. Heike Thiel de Bocanegra, PhD, MPH, Dr. Ahmad Fahim Pirzada, MD, MPH, and Asiya Yama—will introduce the Refugee Reproductive Health Network (ReproNet) and highlight key resources available to support both service providers and communities.

This session will also explore effective strategies for normalizing conversations about reproductive health in clinical, school, and community settings, empowering attendees to foster open and informed discussions. 

This webinar is designed for healthcare providers, educators, community leaders, advocates, and anyone who directly supports refugee women in their reproductive health journeys.

Date and Time: Wednesday, March 5, 2025, 12:00 - 1:30 pm

Learning objectives

1. Understand why it is important to prioritize reproductive health in the refugee population 

2. Introduce the Refugee Reproductive Health Network (ReproNet) and its resources 

3. Learn how to normalize conversations about reproductive health in the clinic, school, and community setting 

Featured Speakers

Heike Thiel de Bocanegra, PhD, MPH

ReproNet, University of California, Irvine; Principal Investigator, Adjunct Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of California, Irvine

Heike Thiel de Bocanegra, PhD, MPH, is Dorothy J. Marsh Endowed Chair in Reproductive Biology and is Professor at the University of California Irvine, School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Wen School of Population and Public Health.

She has an MA in psychology from the University of Bielefeld, Germany, Licenciatura en Psicologia of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru, an MPH from UNC-Chapel Hill, and a PhD in International Community Health Education from NYU. She has over 25 years of experience in studying women’s health issues in newcomer and other marginalized populations. Realizing that women’s health is often taking second place in the refugee resettlement experience, she created the Refugee Reproductive Health Network (ReproNet), a campus-community partnership that has reached over 500 newcomers. With an award from the National Library of Medicine, her team has developed and evaluated reproductive health literacy training for Afghan and Middle Eastern refugees in the Greater Sacramento area. In addition to online and in-person training sessions, the team created a digital library of multilingual reproductive health resources in Dari, Pashto, and Arabic and resources for case managers, clinicians, and researchers. 

Ahmad Fahim Pirzada, MD, MPH

ReproNet, University of California, Irvine; Visiting Professor Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine University of California, Davis 

Dr. Pirzada holds a Master’s in Public Health Leadership from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (2024) and a medical degree from the Kabul University of Medical Sciences (2004). At ReproNet, Dr. Pirzada serves as a Subject Matter Expert, developing training materials and reproductive health toolkits designed to enhance refugee women’s health literacy and to foster cultural competency among healthcare providers delivering reproductive health services to refugee populations. Additionally, at UC Davis, he lectures on topics such as refugee trauma, idioms of distress, and cultural competence to medical interns, public health professionals, and psychiatry residents. Dr. Pirzada is also affiliated with the Migration and Health Research Center at Berkeley and is a member of the University of California Davis GLOBE Committee for Refugee Health and the National Library of Health Sciences. Furthermore, he provides consulting on refugee affairs to Afghan community-based organizations in Sacramento, CA. Previously, Dr. Pirzada served as President & CEO of the Veteran, Immigrant, and Refugee Trauma Institute of Sacramento (VIRTIS) from 2014 to 2016, where he led research on mental trauma within refugee communities, particularly Afghan and Iraqi populations. Internationally, Dr. Pirzada held the roles of Vice President and CEO of Tanweer Investments and Tanweer FBMI (Fatema Bint Mohammed Bin Zayed Initiative), Protocol Assistant to the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan, and served as a physician. Dr. Pirzada resides in Sacramento, CA, with his wife and their three children. 

Asiya Yama 

Project Coordinator at ReproNet

Asiya Yama has worked as the Project Coordinator for the Refugee Reproductive Health Network (ReproNet) at the University of California, Irvine, for over four years. In this role, she has co-developed training materials and the curriculum for the Reproductive Health Literacy Training, contributed to the evaluation of both process and outcomes and facilitated multiple in-person and online sessions with refugee women in Sacramento. Ms. Yama holds a Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders from California State University, Sacramento, and has two years of experience as a medical assistant at a primary care clinic in Sacramento. She is fluent in Pashto, Dari, Urdu, and English. 

Many refugees face significant barriers to accessible and sustainable employment, such as limited networking opportunities, unfamiliarity with the U.S. workplace, and difficulties in effectively advocating for themselves in professional settings. 

To address these issues, Upwardly Global and CIRH are hosting an online informational webinar designed to equip community partners with essential tools and resources to assist refugees in navigating through their employment journey in the U.S. job market. The webinar is open to service providers. 

Learning Objectives: Participants will learn how Upwardly Global supports newcomers in restarting their careers in the U.S. and explore opportunities for organizations to partner and use Upwardly Global's resources and tools to serve their clients.

Date and Time: 12:00 - 1:00 PM PST, Wednesday, December 4, 2024

Download the event flyer here.

Featured Speakers

Abel Mucyo, National Outreach Manager

Abel is a skilled workforce development and social impact professional. As the National Outreach Manager at Upwardly Global, he spearheads outreach and community engagement initiatives to reach Upwardly Global’s community of program participants and referral partners.  Abel is deeply passionate about the social sector and advocates for opportunities and dignity for newcomers. Beyond his role at Upwardly Global, Abel supports this mission by serving on advisory committees of nonprofits dedicated to empowering newcomer communities.

Sohail Morrar, Partnership Development Lead

Sohail Morrar is a dedicated advocate for immigrants and refugees, with a deep-rooted passion for supporting these communities. He began his career in refugee resettlement, serving as a caseworker and later as a program coordinator at the International Rescue Committee in Oakland. Sohail holds a bachelor's degree in International Relations and a master's degree in Public Administration, underscoring his strong academic foundation. Currently, he serves as the Partnerships Development Lead at Upwardly Global, where he has also excelled as a job coach and account manager. His extensive experience and thorough understanding of Upwardly Global's services position him as a knowledgeable and impactful leader in the field of immigrant and refugee support.

Ana McGough, Employment Services Advisor

Ana is an Employment Services Advisor at Upwardly Global, utilizing a Master's in Psychology from the Netherlands and a coaching certification to assist immigrants and refugees in navigating the U.S. job market. Committed to empowering diverse job seekers through tailored resume writing, effective interview preparation, strategic networking, and career coaching, Ana helps them achieve meaningful professional transitions.

This conference marks CIRH's first in-person event, providing a unique opportunity for direct stakeholder collaboration, information sharing, and community engagement. The gathering will bring together Afghan Refugee School Impact-Support to Schools (ARSI—S2S) and Ukrainian Refugee School Impact (URSI) partners, including School Districts, community-based organizations (CBOs), refugees, community members, Federal, State, County, and other relevant stakeholders to improve academic success and promote wellness for students and their families. This event will provide a space for stakeholders to gather in person and share what they have learned in implementing ARSI—S2S, URSI, or similar activities for newcomer students and families (i.e. successes, challenges), ideas they have for program implementation, and a space to learn more about Afghan and Ukrainian refugee populations.

Date & Time: Friday, October 25th, 2024, 9 AM-5 PM PST (Check-in & Registration is from 9-9:30 AM) 

Location: UC Davis, The ARC (Activities and Recreation) Conference Center

*Light snacks and refreshments for breakfast and a lunch buffet will be provided. Food options will include Halal and vegetarian options. Masks are optional. 

Register here. Registration is required and space is limited. Please wait for a confirmation email from our team to verify your registration. 

For more information about the conference agenda and featured speakers, visit here.

Join the Center for Immigrant and Refugee Health (CIRH) on September 18 to gain a deeper understanding of the mental health challenges faced by Afghan refugee communities. In this online session, attendees will learn about the mental health disparities in the Afghan refugee community and identify barriers to accessing mental health care.

Date and Time: September 18th, 2024, 12:00-1:00 pm PST 

Featured Speakers

Dr. Marius Koga, MD, MPH, FRSPH 

A former political prisoner and refugee, Professor Koga directs the Ulysses Refugee Health Research Program at UC Davis School of Medicine. In the past 30 years, his work has centered on transcultural psychiatry including evaluations of Afghan, Iraqi, Burmese, Congolese, Iranian, and Syrian refugees at Sacramento County Refugee Health Clinic. Dr. Koga’s work spans Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Russia, Iran, Türkiye, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt. Research range: PTSD, cultural, religious/spiritual modulators of trauma, idioms of distress, Ulysses Syndrome, cultural retooling, domestic violence, and the medicalization of social suffering. He is a member of the World Psychiatric Association, Transcultural Psychiatry Section, the Athena Network, UC Davis Global Migration Center, and a Fellow of the Royal Societies for Medicine and for Public Health, London, UK. 

Sima Naderi, MPH, MSc

Sima Naderi, MPH, MSc, is a PhD student at UCSF Institute for Global Sciences. She completed her undergraduate and master’s in public health at Kabul University of Medical Science, Kabul, Afghanistan, and she earned her MSc in Global Health from UCSF, in 2023. Previously, she was an Assistant Professor at the Kabul University of Medical Science, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and worked at the Vice President`s office as a senior data scientist. Her research spans maternal and reproductive health, mental health and substance use, and studies of barriers accessing to health and non-health services among Afghan refugees in the US. She has been the co-investigator and data scientist for studies jointly conducted between Kabul Medical University, the University of British Columbia, and Can-Health International. Currently, she examines the health and life vulnerabilities of Afghan refugees in the United States and is affiliated with ReproNet as a Health Equity Scholar.

Agenda 

Part I: 20 minutes – Magnitude, Disparities, and Paradigm Gaps 

1. Post resettlement everyday life difficulties in Afghan refugee families 

2. Incidence and prevalence rates of mental disorders in Afghan refugees 

3. Mental health disparity gaps in CA between Afghans and US-born population 

4. Mental health instruments used to screen for and assess mental disorders 

5. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in Afghan refugee children 

6. Impact of acculturation and gender on mental distress and service utilization 

Part II: 30 minutes – Service Access Barriers and Facilitators in Sacramento 

1. Geographical and social mapping of health services for Afghan refugees 

2. Services awareness, access, and navigation support 

3. Systemic, personal, cultural, and policy-related barriers 

4. Insights from providers within governmental agencies and resettlement partners 

5. Barriers to providing mental & sexual health, and domestic violence services 

6. Linking barriers to the facilitators 

Q&A: 10 minutes

Join us on June 24th for a Web Forum commemorating World Refugee Day. As we celebrate a day dedicated to over one billion people globally—representing immigrants, refugees, and migrants, or one in every eight individuals on the planet—we aim to illuminate the diverse and pressing challenges faced by refugees.

In partnership with Dialogue4Health, this event aims to shed light on the myriad challenges refugees face, focusing on refugee students. Through insightful presentations and discussions, we will explore actionable strategies to collectively honor their journeys and determine how we can best support and uplift refugee students and their families within our communities.

Date & Time: Monday, June 24, 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM PDT / 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM EDT

Register here.