Eliya Msiyaphazi Zulu, PhD. (Executive Director)
Eliya Msiyaphazi Zulu is the Executive Director of the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP) whose mission is to inform public policy and planning with research evidence. Before co-founding AFIDEP, he was the Deputy Director and Director of Research at the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) where he headed the Policy Engagement and Communications Unit and the Urbanization and Wellbeing Research Program. Zulu is the elected president of UAPS, the Union for African Population Studies and the Director of Development Policy in the California-based non-profit organization Venture Strategies for Health and Development. He has over 20 years experience in developing, managing, conducting research and capacity building programs, and engaging with policy makers in issues regarding international development, population change, urbanization, health systems and policy analysis. He has been a Principal Investigator and participated in a number of international research programs; published over 50 peer-reviewed papers, pro-actively promoted evidence-based policies and served in many international panels on population change issues. Zulu earned his PhD in Demography at the University of Pennsylvania, a Masters in Population and Development at the Australian National University, and a Bachelor of Social Science in Economics and Applied Statistics at the University of Malawi.
Dr Nyokabi Musila (Research/Knowledge Translation Scientist)
Dr Nyokabi Musila is a seasoned Public Health Specialist with a keen interest in child health and pharmaceutical policy development. She has 8 years experience in both academia and the public sector, in high and low-income settings, conducting primary and secondary research with a view to improve access of health care and health outcomes using quantitative and qualitative methods. Nyokabi has extensive experience in conducting systematic reviews of the literature, knowledge synthesis and supporting the development of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and health policies for the national health services of the UK and Kenya, and as such has had key roles in communicating research to non-academic audiences. Nyokabi earned her Bachelor of Pharmacy (First Class Honours) (1997) and PhD in Pharmacy (2003) from the University of London. Her main interest lies in knowledge translation and research utilisation with a view to develop evidence-based policies and programs
Dr James Mbugua Ciera (Research/Knowledge Translation Scientist)
Dr James Mbugua Ciera is a Research/Knowledge translation scientist at AFIDEP. Prior to this appointment, he was a post doctoral fellow at African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) where he spent one and half years working in Education and Urbanization programs. James has a PhD is Statistical Sciences from University of Padova (Italy); Msc in Applied Statistics and Biostatistics from Limburgs Universitair Centrum (Belgium). In his PhD dissertation he worked on reproductive health, where he developed a flexible and fast Bayesian method to estimate non-linear curves obtained from basal body temperature (bbt) data. James has interest in application of statistical models in maternal and child health, reproductive health and researche involving poverty dynamics. In terms of statistical data analysis, he has interest in models involving linear and generalized linear models, longitudinal data, data imputation methods, application of Bayesian methods in estimating non-linear models.
Kimeu Muthusi (Data Analyst)
Muthusi is a Data Analyst at AFIDEP. He holds a Master of Statistics in Biostatistics from Universiteit Hasselt, Belgium and a BSc in Mathematics and Computer Science from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenya. Prior to his postgraduate studies, Muthusi worked for KEMRI-CDC as a Data Manager for the International Emerging Infections Project (IEIP). He is skilled in data analysis methods; including classical regression analysis, longitudinal and repeated measures analysis, multivariate methods such as data clustering and discriminant analysis, Bayesian statistics, survival data analysis, data management in statistics, and project consultancy. His main interests lies in data analysis and project management aiming to identify solutions problems facing developing nations such as food crisis, conflict and political instability, and increasing debt which is a huge obstacle to poverty alleviation and HIV/AIDS.
Agnes Gituku (Receptionist and Administrative Assistant)
Agnes a receptionist/Admin assistant at AFIDEP. She has over 8 years experience working as a receptionist and administrative assistant. Agnes is a holder of diploma in Secretarial Studies from Tracom Computer College in Nakuru. She has worked in various organisations in different capacity such as Receptionist, Admin Assistant and Data Entry. Her main interests lie in Administration.
Rose N. Oronje (Communications Specialist)
Rose is a Communications Specialist with eight years’ experience in research-to-policy communications. She has served as communications specialist with national and international research organizations in Africa until December 2009. Rose is currently pursuing doctoral studies at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, UK. She has a Bachelors degree in Information Science and a Masters degree in Communications Studies. Her interests lie in understanding the making of public policy and how research gets to influence policy processes.
Violet I. Murunga (Research and Knowledge Translation Officer)
Violet has over six years of experience in research, monitoring and evaluation, and health planning in Kenya and the United States. She has a Master of Public Health (Epidemiology) from Florida International University, USA, and a Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology) from University of Newcastle, Australia. Her interest lies in promoting the use of research to inform public policy. Prior to joining AFIDEP, she was Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at I Choose Life Africa (ICL).
Chirag Shah (Research Fellow-Public Health)
Chirag has cross-disciplinary experience in research analysis, writing, and presentation. At AFIDEP, he leads quantitative research, drawing on his training in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Before arriving in Nairobi, Shah researched HIV/AIDS epidemiology and wrote policy briefs on disaster risk reduction for the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. Prior to that, he assisted in the development of novel molecular treatments for brain and liver cancer in Long Beach, CA, and he led a community-based infectious disease study on helminthiasis prevalence disparities in Kutch, India. He holds a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology and a Bachelor of Science in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior (with Honors), both from the University of California, Davis.
Eunice Mueni Williams (Assistant Research Officer)
Eunice has a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing and is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health. She has over three years research experience, with specific experience in conducting systematic reviews of health care interventions, field data collection and analysis using STATA/SPSS packages and report writing. She has also undertaken training in research methods, and has extensive understanding of the GRADE process of appraising the quality of evidence of primary research studies. She has also conducted meta-analysis using the Revman5 tool provided by the Cochrane Collaboration. Her research interests lies in maternal and child health. Most recently she was part of a team that synthesized evidence which informed the revision of the Ministry of Medical Services’ guidelines for neonatal and child care.
Harrison Njamba (Information Technology Specialist)
Harrison holds a B.Sc. in Information Science from Moi University. He has worked with various organizations as an IT specialist, computer programmer and database manager. His main interests are in computer hardware, networking and programming. At AFIDEP, he leads projects related to Information Technology, computer programming and database management.
Alan Kawamara (Webmaster)
Alan is AFIDEP’s web and flash developer. He holds a Bsc (Hons) degree in Computer Studies from the University of Sunderland, majoring in Software and Internet Applications development. His work here has involved the revamp of the AFIDEP website layout and information structure. Over the past 7 years, he has held several positions in the fields of web development and management, internet applications development and social media strategy. His specialities include technologies like PHP, AJAX, JavaScript, Flash Actionscript, XML, CSS design, MySQL database programming as well as creative usability design. He also serves as Lead Applications Developer at his company Corporate Art East Africa.
Rose Chebet (Office Assistant)
Rose Chebet handles basic office logistics, oversees office cleaning, and provides clerical support to AFIDEP staff. She has been at AFIDEP since the opening of its Westlands office. She is a dedicated, hard working, and valuable member of the AFIDEP team.
Mallory Sheff (Intern)
Mallory Sheff received her BA in International Affairs and International Development studies from The George Washington University. While at GW, Mallory developed a passion for health and human rights issues most affecting the world’s vulnerable population. Prior to joining AFIDEP, Mallory worked as communications manager and project coordinator for Ubuntu Africa, an NGO providing comprehensive care to HIV-positive children in Khayelitsha, South Africa.