Key details
Dr Devanik Saha
Lecturer in Public Health
Currently, Devanik is a Lecturer in Public Health at the Çï¿ûÊÓƵ since July 2024.
His research specialisations include Gender and Intersectionality, Men and Masculinities, Maternal & Reproductive Health, Migration Health, Global Health Security, Education and International Development. Devanik is a recipient of the prestigious Global Talent Visa by the UK Government in Public Health and Development.
He holds a PhD from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, where his doctoral research focused on an ethnographic study of men's involvement in maternal reproductive health in India through a critical masculinities lens. After his PhD, he worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Essex, wherein he worked on a NIHR funded project on addressing gendered violence and mental health among precarious migrants in India, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Cambodia. At Essex, he also co-convened a module on health inequalities and intersectionality, which is the first of its kind course in the UK.
Devanik also worked as a researcher for the Analysis and Mapping of Policies for Emerging Infectious Disease (AMP EID), a first of its kind tool to inform the future of pandemic preparedness policy and outbreak response funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. He analysed more the policies and legislations around risk communication and community engagement of more than 100 countries which will culminate into an online map tool.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, London (FRSA) and serves as a Country-of-Origin Expert for India at Communitology, advising legal firms on immigration, asylum, and tribunal cases. Devanik’s expertise has been sought by numerous international development institutions including Tetra Tech Europe, Duke NUS Medical School, BBC Media Action, UNICEF India, World Bank, SRIJAN India, Institute of Development Studies, Teach For India, and the Brookings Institution.
Additionally, he has written extensively on international development and public health for a variety of publication houses. To access his publications, visit: https://devaniksaha.contently.com
Posts Held Previously:
- 2023 - 2024: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, GEMMS Global Health Research Group (Funded by NIHR), University of Essex
- 2018 - 2023 PhD candidate, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex
Centre for Inequalities
As we are continue to share our Research Centre updates, this week we are spotlighting the Centre for Inequalities, which forms part of the Institute for Lifecourse Development (ILD).
Responsibilities within the university
Module Leader for the following modules:
- Introduction to Public Health and Well-Being (Foundation Year)
- Project Management in Global Health (MSc Global Health Management)
- Personal Tutor to Foundation Year student in BSc (Ext) Public Health and Wellbeing
Recognition
- External Reviewer: Introduction to Public Policy (BA Political Science) (Manipal University, India) (2024- current)
- Peer Reviewer: NIHR Global Health
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, London
Research / Scholarly interests
Devanik has wide ranging research interests which include gender & intersectionality, maternal reproductive health, migration health and men & masculinities. He is a strong advocate for applying an intersectional lens for public health research and practice.
Funded research projects:
Between 2020-2023, Devanik led two research projects in collaboration with SRIJAN, an NGO in India:
- Impact of men’s reverse migration on women’s care and unpaid work provisions (2021-2023): Received a grant from Azim Premji University, India, as part of their Annual Research Funding program. The grant has been given for a two-year longitudinal mixed-methods study (2021-2023) to examine the impact of COVID19 induced men’s reverse migration on women’s paid and care work provisions in rural India. I was the principal investigator of this study (2000 GBP)
- Analysing the perspectives of community health workers in tackling the COVID19 pandemic in India (2020): Received a grant from Azim Premji University, India, as part of their COVID 19 Research Grant program. The grant was given for a research study (October to December 2022) which examined the role (and challenges) of community health workers in COVID 19 containment efforts in two states of India (1700 GBP)
Key funded projects
Between 2020-2023, Devanik led two research projects in collaboration with SRIJAN, an NGO in India:
- Impact of men’s reverse migration on women’s care and unpaid work provisions (2021-2023): Received a grant from Azim Premji University, India, as part of their Annual Research Funding program. The grant has been given for a two-year longitudinal mixed-methods study (2021-2023) to examine the impact of COVID19 induced men’s reverse migration on women’s paid and care work provisions in rural India. I was the principal investigator of this study (2000 GBP)
- Analysing the perspectives of community health workers in tackling the COVID19 pandemic in India (2020): Received a grant from Azim Premji University, India, as part of their COVID 19 Research Grant program. The grant was given for a research study (October to December 2022) which examined the role (and challenges) of community health workers in COVID 19 containment efforts in two states of India (1700 GBP)
Media activity
- ‘Should India consider telemedicine abortions?’, analysis, Freedom Gazette, 29 July 2020
- ‘More Chores, Expectations & a Bickering Mom-in-law: As World Battles COVID-19, Women Struggle for Their Lost Liberty, reportage, News18, 2 May 2020
- ‘More Chores, Expectations & a Bickering Mom-in-law: As World Battles COVID-19, Women Struggle for Their Lost Liberty, reportage, News18, 2 May 2020
- ‘Childbearing expenses push 47% of Indian mothers to poverty’, data analysis in IndiaSpend, 22 May 2017
- ‘Male suicides in India’, reportage, Health Collective, 12 April 2017
A full list of my articles can be found at devaniksaha.contently.com.
Presentations
- Maternal Bodies Symposium, University of Birmingham, 14th June 2023 ‘The Government’s Job is Just Like a Woman’s Job at Home: Perspectives of Informal Workers on the Pakistan State’s ‘Care’-less Response to Covid-19’
- Regional Conference on Equality and Equity in Recognizing Unpaid Care Work and Women’s Labour in South Asia, 21st October 2022 ‘Exploring Working Men’s Involvement in Antenatal Care in an Urban Settlement of India’
- Regional Conference on Equality and Equity in Recognizing Unpaid Care Work and Women’s Labour in South Asia, 21st October 2022 ‘Exploring Working Men’s Involvement in Antenatal Care in an Urban Settlement of India’
- Regional Conference on Equality and Equity in Recognizing Unpaid Care Work and Women’s Labour in South Asia, 21st October 2022 ‘Exploring Working Men’s Involvement in Antenatal Care in an Urban Settlement of India’