Chris Lyttleton

Assoc Prof Chris Lyttleton

Associate Professor, Anthropology
Institution: Macquarie University
Current Institution Location: Australia

Email: Chris.Lyttleton@mq.edu.au
Phone Number:  61-2-98508077
Website: Go to website

Address:
Sydney, NSW 2109

Migration Health Research Area/Expertise
I conduct academic and applied research into the social and health consequences of rapid economic development in mainland South-East Asia. My focus is on infectious diseases in particular health vulnerability amongst migrants and minority groups. Much of my research looks at the spread of modernizing values and the way new economic formations and market expansion shape the social landscape in South-East Asia. My work uncovers the complex choices people make in order to be active players in market economies and how this, in turn, informs the types of interpersonal relationships they establish. The purpose of this research is to bring attention to how development, mobility and contagious diseases combine to produce a complex environment of risk for people enticed to 'pursue the good life' and how this might be addressed within health interventions.

My current work on migrant health in the GMS is based on the notion that health security, as part of global health strategies, requires clear understandings of how health is impacted by the migration process. Much of my research has examined migrants and mobile populations in or around border areas. These are often special zones established to foster economic growth and benefit from incoming flows of mobile labour. It is here that we find an intense mix of aspirations, entrepreneurialism, transgression, and exploitation affecting people’s choices that in turn, have very specific health impacts. My primary focus has been on HIV/AIDS and malaria but more recently I am also examining mental health among marginal populations.

I have been a consultant with UN agencies, NGOs, and government agencies. I have worked for many years as a health advisor with ADB in particular in projects on HIV mitigation in areas of infrastructure development, malaria prevention among migrants and mobile populations, and health security for migrants and other vulnerable populations.

Research Focus/Expertise on Relevant Migrant Categories
Internal Migration
Internally displaced persons (Adolescents, Adults, Elderly)
Left-behind migrant families (Children, Adolescents, Adults, Elderly)
Migrant Workers (Adolescents, Adults, Elderly)

International/Cross-Border Migration
International migrant workers (Adolescents, Adults, Elderly)

Relevant Publications

Title Author Year Published Link to Publication
Intimate economies of development: Mobility, sexuality and health in Asia Chris Lyttleton
Vigilance and Sentinels in Global Health Security Chris Lyttleton
Sister Cities and Easy Passage: HIV, mobility and economies of desire in a Thai/Lao Border Zone Chris Lyttleton
Deviance and resistance: malaria elimination in the Greater Mekong Subregion Chris Lyttleton
Linking spaces of vulnerability: HIV risk amongst migrant Dai women and their left-behind husbands in SW China Rui Deng & Chris Lyttleton
Promiscuous capitalism meets ‘exotic’ ethnicity: intimate aspirations amongst cross-border Chinese Dai Chris Lyttleton & Rui Deng
Trade Circles: Aspirations and ethnicity in commercial sex in Laos Chris Lyttleton & Sisouvanh Vorabouth
Watermelons, Bars and Trucks: Dangerous Intersections in NW Laos Lyttleton, C., Cohen, P., Rattanavong, H., Thongkhamhane, B., & Sisaengrat, S.
Build It and They Will Come: The construction of Lao Route 3: lessons for mitigating exploitation, HIV and other diseases Chris Lyttleton
Linking the social to the economic: Broadened Ambitions and Multiple Mitigations in new Mekong Corridors Chris Lyttleton
Cultivating the Market: Mobility, Labour and Sexual Exchange in Northwest Laos Chris Lyttleton
Market bound: relocation and disjunction in NW Laos Chris Lyttleton
Endangered Relations: Negotiating Sex and AIDS in Thailand Chris Lyttleton
Relative Pleasures: Drugs, Development and Modern Dependencies in Asia’s Golden Triangle Chris Lyttleton
Expanding community through provision of ARVs in Thailand Chris Lyttleton, Allan Beesey, & Malee SitthiKriengKrai

Relevant Projects

Title Year Published Region/Country Role in the Project Main Outcome Link to Study Reports and publications
Infectious and non-infectious disease risks for marginal groups in the Greater Mekong Subregion Asia and the Pacific
Cambodia
China
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Myanmar
Thailand
Viet Nam
Principal Investigator The current project focuses on mental health amongst marginalized local and migrant populations in border towns.
Health Security in the GMS Asia and the Pacific
Cambodia
China
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Myanmar
Thailand
Viet Nam
Principal Investigator Details of the role of community volunteers in early alert warning systems in border areas
Health coverage for all: how to reach marginal and migrant populations in border regions of the Greater Mekong Subregion Asia and the Pacific
Cambodia
China
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Myanmar
Thailand
Viet Nam
Principal Investigator Details of malaria risk for marginal groups in Thai border zones
HIV risk in GMS border areas Principal Investigator Qualitative findings concerning HIV risk in borderlands throughout upper Mekong
Impact of New Economic Corridors Principal Investigator Analysis of how to mitigate negative externalities in areas of infrastructure development