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Summary

MSc in International Development : /study/courses/postgraduate-taught/msc-international-development-distance-learning

BA International Development:

/study/courses/undergraduate/ba-hons-international-development

Biography

I joined the ������� in 2015 as Senior Lecturer in International Development Studies and Course Leader for the MSc International Development having taught research methods and demography modules in the Department of Demography and Social Statistics at the University of Southampton.  I have used my skills and knowledge in demography and social statistics to shape the distinctiveness of the MSc International Development DL course through modules in Applied Research Methods for Development and Population Health and Development.  My educational qualifications are in the disciplines of economics, demography social statistics and my teaching is in international development and gender and this multidiscipline background has shaped my research.  

In my PhD thesis (completed in 2013) I used social statistics to study the global health challenge of child undernutrition in Malawi.  Since completing my PhD I have undertaken several pieces of impactful research that were undertaken to inform specific policy and programmatic initiatives.  The most recent project, conducted in 2018, was undertaken collaboratively with the Centre for Educational Research and Training, University of Malawi with me as PI and was funded by IM Swedish Development partner to study the link between girls dropping out of school and child marriage. The manager of IM Swedish Development reported in 2023 that they have strengthened the economic inclusion component of their programs to address the economic challenges reported by school children based on my study’s recommendations. The findings of this study are published in the .

In 2015 I carried out a consultancy with the World Health Organisation to study HIV‐free survival by maternal antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimen.  The study highlighted the importance of breastfeeding for infant survival and of ART in reducing the risk of mother‐to‐child HIV transmission, supporting the WHO recommendation to initiate ART for life immediately after HIV diagnosis. The study findings were used to inform the design of the to reflect the existing evidence and accumulated programmatic experience.

In 2014 I studied the Trends and Protective Factors of Female Genital Mutilation(FGM) in Burkina Faso and Mali in a project funded by World Vision International.  Specifically, the study aimed to guide policies and programmatic interventions on tackling FGM in the two countries following the enactment of an FGM law in 1996. The key finding was that education was the most important factor associated with a lower likelihood of undergoing FGM. The publication for this work can be found here:

Research interests

My research falls within the disciplines of public health, gender, demography and international development but my strong footing lies in population health and gender-related research focusing on maternal health and child health in the Global South. My current research programme was born during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic when I organised and hosted an International Online Symposium on the theme “A Silent Pandemic at Home: Heightened Violence against Women and Children during the Covid-19 Pandemic”. Since then have I undertaken research on this topic that has been published at .

In August 2023 I was awarded the Diaspora Fellowship to visit the North West University in South Africa with the aim of establishing research and teaching collaborations. 

I am a recipient of several Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Strategic Funding individually and through the Globalised Africa project.  The 2022 funding has supported my project on Sexual abuse and unwanted pregnancies amongst women and girls during the Covid19 Pandemic in Malawi which is featured on the �������’s  international Development group’s .  I belong to the , which is aimed at helping academics and researchers involved in global health know what other researchers are doing in the United Kingdom or abroad.  My research has been cited in many publications and all of my publications have an impact factor of more than 1 (club of 70% of journals).  I am an  Associate Editor for the  and an Academic Editor of l.