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 Asogwa 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.
Sena Adugna Beyene
Sena Adugna Beyene is a Public Health researcher and Assistant Professor at Jimma University, Ethiopia, specialising in reproductive health, biostatistics, and population studies. He holds a PhD in Public Health with a focus on Reproductive Health. His research centres on gender equity and women’s empowerment in pastoralist communities, where traditional norms often limit women’s access to reproductive healthcare. He advocates for the integration of population data into development planning to inform evidence-based policies and interventions. With expertise in demography and applied statistics, he also contributes to population modelling, monitoring and evaluation, and institutional capacity building. He regularly produces policy briefs and advocacy tools that inform national and regional strategies to improve maternal and reproductive health outcomes. Motivated by a strong commitment to social justice, he works to empower marginalised women and promote sustainable, community-based health improvements through research, teaching, and policy engagement.
Bwalya Bupe Bwalya
Bwalya Bupe 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.
Aboubacar Diallo
Aboubacar Diallo is a data and digital health specialist with extensive experience in geospatial analysis, health systems strengthening, and public health research across Africa. He has worked with organizations including the World Bank, the Global Financing Facility, and national Ministries of Health to support data-driven decision-making in West and Central Africa. His work focuses on healthcare accessibility, epidemic response, and the integration of climate risk into health planning. Aboubacar also contributes to capacity building through training and mentorship, and has led innovative projects using AI, GIS, and digital public goods to improve health equity in underserved regions.
Tendai Ganduri
Tendai Ganduri 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 Gani 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.
Temitope David Iwashokun
Temitope David Iwashokun is an experienced IT professional with over 18 years in the field. He is presently a first-year PhD student in Information Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. He specialises in server administration and computer network management and has worked with various Indigenous and multinational organisations across Nigeria. Driven by a passion for knowledge, Temitope is constantly exploring domains relevant to his professional growth. He is currently expanding his expertise into cybersecurity and cloud computing. He is an avid reader, particularly interested in literature on wisdom and leadership. He also invests time in learning from thought leaders to continually build personal and professional capacity.
Salmon Likoko
Salmon Likoko 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.
Palo Mafaesa
Palo is a social scientist, academic, researcher and author. He has vast experience in facilitating advocacy and empowerment programmes and has been in the social services sector for nineteen (19) years. He was a founder of a community-based organisation, Rainbow Visions, which capacitated entrepreneurs of start-up businesses. He is the author of the Amazon-published novel **A Woman's Scar** and has been a feature writer for Moja Magazine on socioeconomic issues. He has also recently contributed a chapter on Artificial Intelligence to a UNISA academic book, been accepted to present at the second International Conference on Children's Rights and been accepted as part of the Y20 working team for the upcoming G20 summit.
Takalani Berline Makhitha
Takalani Berline Makhitha is an emerging academic and aspiring data scientist with a strong commitment to using evidence-based research and leadership to advance social justice, sustainable development, and equitable access to health services in Africa. He is currently pursuing his doctoral studies in Population Studies at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). My research focused on socio-economic disparities in child vaccination coverage, with the aim of informing targeted policy and intervention strategies.
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.
Richard Mashapa
Richard Mashapa is a seasoned Biostatistician and Data Analyst with extensive experience in the Public Health sector. He currently serves as the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Manager at the Zimbabwe Technical Assistance, Training, and Education Centre for Health (Zim-TTECH), where he provides strategic information and evaluation leadership for the DREAMS program. In his role, Richard offers technical leadership and project management for implementing the ZimPAAC DREAMS program’s scope of work and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework. He promotes a holistic, “big picture” understanding of the program across the project team and leads the design, development, and maintenance of consortium-wide M&E and data systems. As M&E Manager, he oversees the overall design and execution of the DREAMS M&E infrastructure for the ZimPAAC consortium. This includes ensuring compliance with performance standards and safeguarding data security, integrity, and privacy. He coordinates and supports ZimPAAC partners in developing and refining key strategic documents such as Comprehensive M&E Plans, Costed M&E Work Plans, Evaluation and Performance Measurement Plans (EPMP), Data Management Plans (DMP), Data Quality Assurance Strategies, Data Use Plans, and Management Information Systems.
Khanyisa Mbunga
Khanyisa Mbunga is currently undertaking her PhD in Demography and Population Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). She is actively engaged in developing her doctoral research topic and refining her interests within this field. Khanyisa earned her Master of Philosophy in Population Studies (Magna Cum Laude) from the University of the Western Cape (UWC).
Themba Mnguni
Themba Mnguni is a post-doctoral fellow at the Wits Media Studies Department. My research interest is focused on the preservation of Indigenous languages through the use of AI and its Large Language Models and Natural Language Processing technology to preserve cultural heritage and language diversity in the global south.
Tsele Moloi
A dynamic and committed scholar in the fields of Business and Society, Philanthropy, and Social Investment. Tsele holds a Ph.D. in Management from the Wits Business School. He currently serves as a Postdoctoral Fellow and convenor of the Ph.D. Seminar Series at the Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI). With significant experience in postgraduate supervision, research facilitation, academic teaching, and curriculum design, Dr. Moloi has contributed to the intellectual development of numerous postgraduate students. His interdisciplinary expertise spans CSR, CSV, BOP, social entrepreneurship, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), underpinned by a commitment to sustainable African development.
Keabetsoe Motebang
Keabetsoe Motebang is an MSc student in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing at the University of the Witwatersrand. Her research focuses on the geospatial analysis of Net Primary Productivity (NPP) in Lesotho, using advanced spatial modelling techniques such as Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) and Geographically Weighted Neural Networks (GWNN). Through this work, she investigates the spatial non-stationarity of environmental drivers of NPP and evaluates the predictive power of local modelling approaches for ecological monitoring and sustainable land management. With a strong passion for geospatial modelling and programming, she enjoys working at the intersection of environmental science, remote sensing, and spatial data science. Her work reflects a commitment to leveraging geospatial technologies to address pressing environmental and development challenges in Southern Africa. Beyond her academic pursuits, she is also dedicated to mentoring and advocating for youth empowerment, particularly in areas related to climate justice and spatial equity.
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.
Daniel Omole
Daniel Omole is a licensed pharmacist and researcher with a strong interdisciplinary background in the intersection of healthcare, data science, and public health. His professional experience spans sexual and reproductive health research, healthcare systems innovation, and digital health product development across Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa. In the field of sexual health, Daniel has contributed to several research initiatives focusing on family planning, HIV/AIDS, and adolescent health, often leveraging data-driven approaches to inform program design and policy evaluation. His work bridges clinical insight with analytical rigor, bringing unique value to both academic and operational health settings.
Juliana Chukwunonso Onuh
Juliana Chukwunonso Onuh 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.