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Research
COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic reveals the need for strong priority setting goals for countries in Africa. This priority setting goal should go beyond the creation of vaccines and emergency response systems. Prioritization is required to reduce socioeconomic inequities, strengthen health systems, and protect the quality of life for vulnerable populations. As countries grapple with the pandemic, it has become apparent that public health systems must be resilient in their efforts to combat COVID-19, but also in their strategy to roll out vaccines in the future. Providing essential services to communities in Africa requires that health systems must ensure that effective management techniques are applied to the allocation of resources during times of scarcity and great need. As a research scholar, I supported a large, multi-project that examines how countries utilized priority setting approach during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, I focused on the delivery of health care services to vulnerable populations such as girls and women during the pandemic.
The impact of financialisation on global health: a series of pharmaceutical case studies (finpharm)
At the Graduate Institute, Geneva – In recent decades the structure of national and global economies has undergone a significant shift, characterised as financialisation whereby economic, social, and political life are being increasingly shaped by financial actors and motives. The central objective of this research is to examine the impact of financialisation on the development and use of pharmaceuticals in three areas of global health significance: (1) the “recycling” of antiretroviral drugs for HIV prevention (2) the search for effective treatments and vaccine for Ebola Virus Disease, and (3) the development of solutions for the growing global threat of antimicrobial resistance. This research requires an innovative inter-disciplinary approach that brings together expertise in understanding how the worlds of finance and pharmaceuticals work and interact, with insight into how global health problems and solutions then play out in the real world. There has to date been relatively little research exploring these intersections. For each of these areas, the project will assemble in-depth case studies of pharmaceutical solutions, linking research on “upstream” financial factors affecting their development with clinical, epidemiological, and social realities “downstream”.
NCDs – Connecting The Dots
Research aimed at guiding national and regional NCD advocates to engage with regional and global advocacy, to explore the benefits associated, and opportunities and mechanisms for doing so with focus on relevant multilateral organisations and their governance and decision-making spaces/bodies/processes. Over the last two decades, global action to combat NCDs has been accelerated by a series of political commitments.
The global agenda to address NCDs is pushed forward every year by several UN and WHO governing bodies, as well as other decision-making and discussion for a of relevant multilateral organizations, allowing for varying degrees of civil society participation in these spaces. This research will serve as an advocacy guide for national and regional NCD advocates interested in engaging in regional and global advocacy, as well as exploring the benefits of doing so and the opportunities and mechanisms for doing so. It will concentrate on relevant multilateral organizations, their governance, and decision-making spaces/bodies/processes, specifically the United Nations and the World Health Organization.
Evidence-Based Management: Panacea or Placebo? Insights from Nigerian HIV/AIDS Service Delivery
New Public Management revolutionized the study of management, but increasingly, practitioners and academics focus on what is called evidence-based management (EBMgt) and new public service. Evidence-based management can be defined as the manner in which organizations utilize data and information to inform decision-making processes and shape managerial practices. This research explored how the Nigerian public health delivery is shaped to address the origins and consequences of changes in managerial practice. It is organized around the notion that organizational performance, specifically service delivery, has two aspects: organizational technology (e.g., leadership techniques) and organizational capacity. The hypothesis in this research is that an organization that adopts an evidence-based management grounded in principles of new public service is better at service delivery. This is due to the shared vision, collaboration, and citizen-centered principles that result in more sustainable impact, provided an organization has the necessary capacity.
Organizational Behavior
As a scholar, I am trained in organizational behavior at the University of Pennsylvania. My research focused on the intersection of management, organizations, and sociology. An understanding of interpersonal workings that immigrant professionals have within the organizations yields an in-depth understanding of how they fit the new organizational culture that they find themselves in. This paper explores the immigrant professional’s contribution to society.
African Women Leaders in the 21st Century
Research that provides insight into the various challenges women face, their roles in leadership and how they have advanced over the years in Africa against these odds. It is becoming more apparent than ever that female leadership in Africa is predetermined by the state of women’s affairs in a country. More women seem to be breaking beyond society’s expectations of their potential being limited to the home front. Reports have shown that when women are able to reach their full potential – equal participation in the economy as their male counterparts – global GDP can increase and in sub-Saharan Africa specifically, the GDP can increase by 27%, or $0.7 trillion, when the gap is closed. According to a report by McKinsey, women make up over half the world’s population, but only 37% of them are in the workforce. With that in mind, many initiatives and programs have been established to combat gender inequality, providing more opportunities for women to join the workforce. These initiatives often have a common theme which is to empower women and make them qualified leaders in different sectors through scholarships, skill acquisition, grants, competitions, mentorship, etc. Despite the gains that have been made by African female leaders, there is still more work to be done. Boosting the number of African women in leadership roles – that have power and influence – would require a culture shift in regard to societal expectations and norms.
Research Commentary
NTDs – Think Global Health
Africa can’t unleash its great potential until it ends neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). This group of parasitic, viral, and bacterial infections, which include intestinal worms, schistosomiasis, and trachoma, infect more than 600 million people in Africa and more than 1.7 billion people worldwide. And far from being a distraction during the COVID-19 pandemic, there are synergistic ways that countries in Africa can invest in fighting both. Not only is addressing NTDs important in its own right; doing so can alleviate poverty and strengthen health systems.