People
Faculty
Clifford Odimegwu
Clifford Odimegwu is a leading African demographer and Professor of Demography, Social Statistics, and Population Health at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. His research focuses on fertility, population health, and social determinants of well-being, with over 200 publications to his name. He is editor of The Routledge Handbook of African Demography and actively supports capacity strengthening across Africa through mentorship, training, and research leadership. Professor Odimegwu’s work continues to shape demographic scholarship and policy across the continent.
Pedzisai Ndagurwa
Pedzisai Ndagurwa is a Senior Lecturer in Demography and Population Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Holding a Ph.D. from Wits, his research focuses on fertility transitions, household structures, and quality of life in sub-Saharan Africa. Proficient in both quantitative and qualitative data analysis tools, Dr. Ndagurwa has contributed to numerous publications and international conferences, including the 2024 ISQOLS conference. His work provides valuable insights into the socio-demographic dynamics shaping African communities.
Emmanuel Olamijuwon
Emmanuel Olamijuwon is a Lecturer in Social and Health Data Science at the University of St Andrews, UK. His research explores the intersections of digital technology, health, and social inequality in Africa, focusing on youth sexual health, antimicrobial resistance, and data-driven public health strategies. A recipient of the Green Talents Award, he has contributed to projects like HATUA and CARE, and actively mentors emerging scholars in digital demography and health equity.Speakers
Teaching Assistants
Participants
Henry Asogwa
Henry holds a first degree in Economics, A Master of Science degree in Economics, and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in Development Economics. Presently a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Development Studies (IDS), the University of Nigeria Enugu Campus, and A Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics, the University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu, Nigeria. Dr. Henry has broad experience in development and health economics, which has shaped his participation in several policy engagements involving Clean Foundation/UNDP, International Republican Institute (IRI), and several other development research and intergovernmental policy initiatives on public policy issues. He is a team-spirited and committed research fellow with an interest in public health and development, which is evident in most of his published articles. He is also readily available to collaborate on health and development issues, policies, interventions, and programs.
Dzunisani Baloyi
Dzunisani is currently working as a Project manager at the MRC/Wits Agincourt research unit, which falls within the School of Public Health, at the University of Witwatersrand. My role entails managing and coordinating a team of nineteen field staff members, collecting data on chronic diseases (i.e., health surveillance) at primary health care facilities and hospitals in rural Mpumalanga. I am currently registered as a Research Psychologist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa, with over six years of experience in implementing and conducting social, behavioral, and health research. I have published independently and contributed as a co-author to other publications. My research interests include understanding paediatric tuberculosis; evaluation of health systems; designing support interventions for children with long-term health conditions such as severe chronic and mental disorders; and promoting cognitive executive functions in young children. I am registered as a pre-PhD scholar in Paediatrics and Child Health at Stellenbosch University.
Bwalya Bupe Bwalya
Bwalya is a third-year PhD student in Demography and Population Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. Since 2014, Bwalya has served as a Lecturer of Demography at Mulungushi University in Zambia, holding both Master's and Bachelor's degrees in the field. Besides, he is also a former DHS fellow (2016) and facilitator (2017). His published research spans Sexual Reproductive Health, Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition, and HIV and AIDS. He also has extensive professional experience, including roles as a Monitoring and Evaluation Officer for MDGi under the GRZ-UN Zambia and European Union, Research Manager at the Society for Family Health in Zambia, Social Economic Planner for the Ministry of Local Government in Zambia, and Statistician for the National Food and Nutrition Commission in Zambia.
Tendai Ganduri
Tendai is a doctoral candidate in Media Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand. Using a computational social sciences approach, her research examines climate narratives and the sociopolitical contestations that they generate in Zimbabwe and South Africa. The primary data is drawn from X (formerly Twitter) and is complemented by interviews. Her study focuses on climate-related events of Cyclone Idai (Zimbabwe, 2019), the KwaZulu-Natal floods (South Africa, 2022), as well as COP26 and COP27. She has been awarded several local and international fellowships in recognition of her research, with the Digital Humanism Fellowship being the most recent. Tendai holds an MSc in Media and Society Studies from Midlands State University, Zimbabwe, and has administrative and research experience in the public and private sectors.
Salma Gani
Salma is a research psychologist and PhD student in Psychology at the University of the Witwatersrand. Her thesis focuses on modelling first-year student adjustment while accounting for stress, mental health and coping. Her research interests lie in young adult stress and mental health. She is passionate about applying advanced statistical methods and data science tools to improve understanding of mental health and distress in this population. She is also a statistical consultant for students in the School of Human and Community Development and lectures on Research Design and Analysis for Honours in Psychology.
Salmon Likoko
Salmon is a South African Population Analyst and Health demographer with extensive experience in Social Science research, quantitative data analysis, and demographic studies. He holds a Master of Arts in Health Demography from the University of the Witwatersrand and is currently pursuing his PhD in Demography and Population Studies at the same institution. Salmon has contributed to major national projects, including the 2022 Census at Statistics South Africa, where he worked as a Demographer. He currently serves as a Population Analyst at the Department of Social Development in Cape Town, where he manages research projects and conducts advanced population analyses to support policy implementation. His research focuses on population health and migration, and he has co-authored several peer-reviewed publications on topics such as the health outcomes of grandparents caring for orphans and healthcare access for migrant youths in South Africa. He is proficient in statistical software such as STATA, SPSS, and SuperCoss, to mention a few, and has demonstrated leadership through his work within the Department of Social Development.
Ralph Makuyana
Ralph is a PhD Candidate in Applied Data Science at the University of Johannesburg. He is a seasoned Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) practitioner with more than seven years’ experience working with PEPFAR’s public health frameworks, models, or approaches in the context of Nutrition, HIV Prevention and Orphans and Vulnerable Children (O.V.C) programs. He possesses excellent problem-solving skills and analytical skills alongside technical skills in R, STATA, Python Programming, Epi Info, SPSS and MATLAB. Mr R. Makuyana has over seven years' experience in HIV/SRH programming, in both qualitative and quantitative research and has led or participated in several baseline, mid-term and end-term surveys.
Elizabeth Nyirenda
Elizabeth is a Population Scientist, Researcher and Evaluator. She is currently a PhD candidate in the Demography and Population Studies programme at the University of the Witwatersrand. She is a Lecturer at the University of Zambia in the Department of Demography, Population Sciences, Monitoring and Evaluation, where she has worked as an academic member of staff supporting, teaching, researching, and implementing projects for over 10 years. She is a 2024 Union of African Population Studies African Research and Data Fellow and is a Member of the IUSSP and UAPS. Her areas of research and evaluation focus include sexual reproductive health and rights, fertility and well-being and contemporary issues such as climate change. She contributes to writing through journal articles, reports, books, and technical papers on population issues and peer-reviewed papers for scientific publications.
Juliana Chukwunonso Onuh
Juliana is both a PhD student and a lecturer in Population Geography at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Geography, with research interests and focus on migration, displacement, population health, spatial inequality, and livelihoods. She has worked on multidisciplinary projects with organisations such as UNESCO, UNDP, and Viable Knowledge Masters and has been published in peer-reviewed journals on her area of interest. She is a recipient of academic mobility and travel grants and is active in professional associations such as IUSSP and UAPS.