Rita Bhatia brings extensive experience in managing public health nutrition programmes working with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and UN agencies dedicated to protection, food security, nutrition, food fortification, education and HIV and AIDS. Her career emphasis has been on conceptualization, planning, management and evaluation of programmes. Rita believes in coaching and mentoring young public health professionals. She acts as a resource person for public health nutrition training and workshops around the world. She has been the course director for nutrition in emergency training in Asia and the resource person in the middle-east.

During her positions with the United Nations and NGOs, Rita provided leadership in public nutrition and health programme. The jobs entailed developing policies and strategies, fostering inter-agency collaboration, providing programme and technical support, undertaking training and workshops, leading food security and nutrition assessment and monitoring and evaluating programmes.

In addition Rita has extensive emergency experience. She managed major nutrition emergency operations in Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Bangladesh, Nepal, Gulf crisis, Great Lakes (Goma, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania), Balkans (Bosnia, Kosovo), East Timor, Indonesia (West Timor), Pakistan, Afghanistan, Philippines and Syria.

Rita is currently a freelance consultant involved in country portfolio evaluations, capacity development, and board member of local and international NGOs and on technical advisory panel.

Rita has Master’s degrees in Nutrition from India and Social Development from University of Wales, Department of Development Studies, United Kingdom.