Professor Renzaho held a future fellowship between 2013 and 2017 and is a Professor of Humanitarian and Development Studies, Western Sydney University. He joined the university in 2015 and prior to that was the Director of Migration, Social Disadvantage, and Health Programs within the Global Society Unit, the Department of Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine, Monash University. With a background in Global Health and International Development, he has professional experience in complex (protracted) humanitarian emergencies and development practice, international public health, and nutrition epidemiology including the epidemiology of non-chronic diseases and cardiovascular diseases among migrant populations. From 2003 to 2006, he oversaw the evaluation of more than 40 AusAID NGO Cooperation Programs with World Vision Australia (covering Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, the Pacific, and Asia) and acted as the Technical Director of the Impact Assessment of Australian Aid for the Bougainville Infrastructure. He has worked with a number of United Nations organizations, including Care Australia, Concern Worldwide, Médecins Sans Frontières, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, and the United Nations Children’s Fund. Professor Renzaho has also undertaken consultancy work for State and Commonwealth Governments in Australia and has been a member of a number of governmental and non-governmental boards, committees, expert panels, and taskforces. He is on editorial boards of international journals and is currently a Chief Investigator on category 1 grants. He has published more than 150 papers and attracted more than $5.5 million in national competitive grants.

He undertakes research in public health related to complex humanitarian emergencies and the effectiveness of development assistance in developing countries. His recent work in this area includes being the chief lead investigator for the study on Buruli ulcer in Ghana (2005); mortality, nutrition, and food security study in Vanuatu (2004) and during emergencies in Mozambique (2004) and Lesotho (2005); the anthropological aspects of HIV/AIDS in Tanzania and Malawi (2005; 2006); maternal and child health study in Laos (2005); the evaluation of the emergency response and disaster mitigation initiatives in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and D.R. Congo (2005); the evaluation of child sponsorship programs in Ecuador (2006); the evaluation of AusAID support for child nutrition (2013); the evaluation of the ‘Urban Program on Livelihoods and Income Fortification and Socio-civic Transformation for the Youth in Kampala, Uganda’ (2014); maternal and child health in Laos (NHMRC 2015); migrants’ settlement literacy and trajectory (ARC discovery 2017); and obesity prevention among vulnerable populations (NHMRC 2017).

Selected Publications

Renzaho, A. M. (2004). Fat, rich and beautiful: Changing socio-cultural paradigms associated with obesity risk, nutritional status and refugee children from sub-Saharan Africa. Health & Place, 10(1), 105-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1353-8292(03)00051-0

Akombi, B., Agho, K., Hall, J., Wali, N., Renzaho, A., & Merom, D. (2017). Stunting, wasting and underweight in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(8), 863. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14080863

Akombi, B., Agho, K., Merom, D., Hall, J., & Renzaho, A. (2017). Multilevel analysis of factors associated with wasting and underweight among children under-five years in Nigeria. Nutrients, 9(1), 44. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9010044

Akombi, B. J., Agho, K. E., Merom, D., Renzaho, A. M., & Hall, J. J. (2017). Child malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa: A meta-analysis of demographic and health surveys (2006-2016). PLOS ONE, 12(5), e0177338. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0177338

Akombi, B. J., Agho, K. E., Hall, J. J., Merom, D., Astell-Burt, T., & Renzaho, A. M. (2017). Stunting and severe stunting among children under-5 years in Nigeria: A multilevel analysis. BMC Pediatrics, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-016-0770-z

Cyril, S., Halliday, J., Green, J., & Renzaho, A. (2016). Relationship between body mass index and family functioning, family communication, family type and parenting style among African migrant parents and children in Victoria, Australia: A parent-child dyad study. BMC Public Health, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3394-1

Green, J., Renzaho, A., Eisenbruch, M., Williamson, L., Waters, E., Lo Bianco, J., & Oberklaid, F. (2008). Parent-centred and culturally-competent literacies for health promotion with newly arrived African communities: a literature review. Victorian Department of Human Services.

Green, J., Williamson, L., Eisenbruch, M., Renzaho, A., Waters, E., & Oberklaid, F. (2008). Families, communities and culture: Health promotion with newly-arrived African communities in Victoria. Department of Human Services.

Griffith, M., Mellor, D., Green, J., & Renzaho, A. M. (2014). Migration-related influences on obesity among sub-Saharan African migrant adolescents in Melbourne, Australia. Nutrition & Dietetics, 71(4), 252-257. https://doi.org/10.1111/1747-0080.12135

Mellor, D., Renzaho, A., Swinburn, B., Green, J., & Richardson, B. (2012). Aspects of parenting and family functioning associated with obesity in adolescent refugees and migrants from African backgrounds living in Australia. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 36(4), 317-324. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-6405.2012.00894.x

Mugadza, H. T., Akombi, B. J., Tetteh, V. W., Stout, B., & Renzaho, A. M. (2020). Engaging sub-Saharan African migrant families in Australia: Broadening definitions of family, community, and culture. Community, Work & Family, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2020.1752621

Mugadza, H. T., Mujeyi, B., Stout, B., Wali, N., & Renzaho, A. M. (2019). Childrearing practices among sub-Saharan African migrants in Australia: A systematic review. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28(11), 2927-2941. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01463-z

Mugadza, H. T., Stout, B., Akombi, B. J., Williams Tetteh, V., & Renzaho, A. (2019). The concept of a child within sub‐Saharan African migrant homes: Reconciling culture and child rights. Child & Family Social Work, 24(4), 519-528. https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12632

Mugadza, H. T., Tetteh, V. W., Stout, B., & Renzaho, A. M. (2020). Parenting in a new environment: Implications for raising sub-Saharan African children within the Australian child protection context. Australasian Review of African Studies, 41(1), 166-194. https://doi.org/10.22160/22035184/aras-2020-41-1/166-194

Natoli, L., Renzaho, A. M., & Rinaudo, T. (2008). Reducing harmful traditional practices in Adjibar, Ethiopia: Lessons learned from the Adjibar safe motherhood project. Contemporary Nurse, 29(1), 110-119. https://doi.org/10.5172/conu.673.29.1.110

Renzaho, A. (2009). Evaluation of the African Migrant Parenting Program: A Summary of the Evaluation Findings. Deakin University. http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30032203

Renzaho, A., & Burns, C. (2003). More, more, more: food, fat and African refugee and migrant children. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 12, 56.

Renzaho, A., Gibbons, C., Swinburn, B., Jolley, D., & Burns, C. (2006). Obesity and undernutrition in sub-Saharan African immigrant and refugee children in Victoria, Australia. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 15(4), 482-490.

Renzaho, A. M., Green, J., Mellor, D., & Swinburn, B. (2010). Parenting, family functioning and lifestyle in a new culture: The case of African migrants in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Child & Family Social Work, 16(2), 228-240. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2206.2010.00736.x

Renzaho, A. M., Swinburn, B., & Burns, C. (2008). Maintenance of traditional cultural orientation is associated with lower rates of obesity and sedentary behaviours among African migrant children to Australia. International Journal of Obesity, 32(4), 594-600. https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2008.2

Renzaho, A. M., & Vignjevic, S. (2011). The impact of a parenting intervention in Australia among migrants and refugees from Liberia, Sierra Leone, Congo, and Burundi: Results from the African migrant parenting program. Journal of Family Studies, 17(1), 71-79. https://doi.org/10.5172/jfs.2011.17.1.71

Renzaho, A., Nowson, C., Kaur, A., Halliday, J., Fong, D., & DeSilva, J. (2011). Prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency and risk factors for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease among African migrant and refugee adults in Melbourne. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 20(30), 397-403. http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30036933

Renzaho, A., Swinburn, B., Lo, S., Mellor, D., & Green, J. (2009). Obesity and its Risk Factors Among African Migrant Adolescents: Assessing the Role of Intergenerational Acculturation Gap, Family Functioning and Parenting. The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation. http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30032205

Renzaho, A., Wilson, A., Swinburn, B., & McCabe, M. (2011). Parental feeding practices, health beliefs, and intergenerational acculturation gap among African migrants. Obesity Research & Clinical Practice, 5, 45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orcp.2011.08.142

Faculty Page: https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/thri/team/members/andre_renzaho