London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Compared to high-income countries (HICs), eating-related behaviors and disorders have received less attention in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to developing eating disorders due to developmental changes and exposure to numerous risk factors. Although higher rates are observed among adolescent girls, eating disorders have been reported by individuals of all genders, sexualities, races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic statuses. 

Calls for public health actions to prevent eating disorders are rising, yet successful strategies in public health remain underdeveloped. The lack of contributions from public health professionals and high concentration within the discipline of psychology and psychiatry leaves us with few studies focusing on macro-level prevention approaches. Additionally, a limited number of experts and low levels of public awareness regarding eating disorders and related behaviours in LMICs lead to limited understanding of these conditions. Therefore, this panel will present their experiences from three different LMIC settings to raise awareness about the importance of public health perspectives in tackling eating disorders in LMICs, and to identify future research directions. 

Speakers

Mubarek Abera Mengistie 

Mubarek, has a Bachelor degree in public health, Master’s in mental health, MA in positive and transcultural psychotherapy, and PhD in paediatric and international nutrition. He has worked in the health care system and higher teaching and research institutions of Ethiopia. After working for 3-years as a clinician and director of health centre at district health facility, he joined department of psychiatry, Jimma University as academic staff. At the department of psychiatry, he has been facilitating and teaching  a course on child and adolescent mental health and established an outpatient child and adolescent mental health unit. Currently he is working on research projects focusing on the interplay between nutrition and mental health in maternal, child and adolescent populations.

Dr. Galina Leșco

Galina is obstetrician-gynecologist, President of Health for Young Association, Head of National Resource Center for youth-friendly health services NEOVITA în Republic of Moldova. Has a special professional interest in juvenile gynecology, reproductive endocrinology, family planning and development of youth friendly health services.  She has research experience in behavioral and clinical studies in area of professional interest, she is Principal Investigator of the WHO Feasibility Study of a Brief Intervention to Prevent STIs and Unintended Pregnancies in the Republic of Moldova, principal Investigator of the HBSC national research team (WHO International Collaborative Study of the Health Behaviors of School-Age Children) etc. Has experience as an international expert of UNICEF, WHO, UNFPA, GOPA in adolescent health, sexual-reproductive health, health care in cases of gender-based violence. She is one of the faculty members of the European Training Program for Adolescent Health for Professionals (EuTEACH), based on University of Lausanne, Switzerland. She is a member of the International Society of Endocrinological Gynecology and the European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health, an active member of the International Association of Adolescent Health (IAAH).

Nindhita Muharrani 

Nindhita is an alumna of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), where she completed an MSc in Nutrition for Global Health (2023/2024) as a Chevening Scholar. She also holds a previous MSc in Eating Disorders and Clinical Nutrition (2018/2019) at University College London (UCL). Driven by her passion for the connection between nutrition and mental health, Nindhita founded Mind Your Meal in 2021, an educational platform aimed at raising awareness among the public and clinicians in Indonesia. From 2020 to 2023, Nindhita worked at the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization’s Regional Centre for Food and Nutrition (SEAMEO RECFON), contributing to research and capacity-building initiatives. In 2024, she further pursued her interest in adolescent nutrition as a program intern at Helen Keller International (HKI), where she worked on a panel dataset focused on adolescent girls in Nepal.

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