Team
Kinshasa School of Public Health (KSPH)
DRC lead:
Paulin Mutombo
Research Fellow:
Kennedy Lobukulu Lolimo Genese
University of the Witwatersrand
Johannesburg lead:
Jo Vearey
Research Fellow:
Rebecca Walker
Research Fellow:
Dostin Lakika
Research Fellow:
Tackson Makandwa
Amref International University
Nairobi lead:
Joachim Osur
Research Fellow:
Lydia Atambo
Research Support:
Brenda Metobo
Somali Institute for Development and Research Analysis (SIDRA)
Somalia and EDI lead:
Amina Jama Mahmud
Research Fellow:
Ahmed Bile
Research Fellow:
Mohamed A Ali-Salad
Engagement Officer:
Abdulkadir Mohamed Muse
Université Evangélique en Afrique / Centre d’Excellence Denis Mukwege
Stakeholder engagement lead:
Germaine Furaha
Research Fellow:
Henry Ngongo
Research Fellow:
Léon Kazamwali
Research Fellow:
Agino Foussiakda Cécilia
Advocacy and Impact:
Denise Mukwege
The University of Edinburgh
Principal Investigator:
Laura Jeffery
Project Manager:
Mark Henderson
Senior Project Officer:
Alex Makotose
Congolese displacement and KEI lead:
Jean-Benoît Falisse
Somali displacement and ethics lead:
Lucy Lowe
Research Fellow:
Clayton Boeyink
Queen Margaret University (QMU)
Health Systems lead:
Arek Dakessian
ARQ
Mental health and psychosocial support adviser:
Saara Martinmäki
Researcher:
David Nieuwe Weme
Mental health practitioner:
Rina Ghafoerkhan
Mohamed A Ali-Salad
Somali Institute for Development and Research Analysis (SIDRA)
Mohamed A Ali-Salad is a research data analyst at Somali Institute for Development Research and Analysis (SIDRA) based in Garowe, Somalia. Mohamed is responsible for the successful implementation of in-country research field work.
Mohamed received his MSc in Biostatistics and Epidemiology from SRM University, India. He teaches applied statistics at the University of Bosaso, Garowe campus. Mohamed’s main areas of interest are the application of a range of analytical studies on health data such as health data utility analysis and quantitative analysis of determinants of health.
Dr Lydia Atambo
Amref Intenational University
Dr Lydia Atambo is a research fellow based at Amref International University. She is a medical doctor with over 10 years’ experience in the medical field. She has a master’s degree in Tropical and Infectious Diseases from the University of Nairobi and a public health master’s degree in Health Systems Strengthening from the University of Liverpool.
Ahmed Bile
Somali Institute for Development and Research Analysis (SIDRA)
Ahmed Bile is a Research Fellow at the Somali Institute for Development Research and Analysis (SIDRA). He holds a Master of Pharmacy from King’s College London and Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) certificates from the University of Manchester and the University of Greenwich.
Ahmed has over 25 years’ experience in health teaching and research. Ahmed has a keen interest in health systems in fragile states (Somalia) especially in access to essential medicines, medicines information and human resource for health.
Dr Clayton Boeyink
The University of Edinburgh
Clayton Boeyink is based at the University of Edinburgh. As a Research Fellow on this project he coordinates between research teams to support data collection and analysis from all field sites.
Clayton completed an MSc in Africa and International Development and PhD in International Development focusing on the Tanzanian state’s shutdown self-reliance opportunities in refugee camps and refugees’ resistance through everyday mobilities and livelihoods. Prior to academia, he was a social worker in the US for a refugee resettlement agency and started the first mental health programme for refugees in Iowa.
Agino Foussiakda Cécilia
Université Evangélique en Afrique
Agino Foussiakda Cécilia is a research and teaching assistant at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Université Evangélique en Afrique and a researcher at the Centre d’Excellence Denis Mukwege. She is responsible for psychosocial analyses and gender intersectionality amongst Congolese IDPs. Cécilia is also a PhD Student enrolled in the Faculty of Psychology at Université de Liège in Belgium. She holds a BSc in Social Work from the Université Evangélique en Afrique and a MSc in Gender Studies from Université Catholique de Louvain.
Dr Arek Dakessian
Queen Margaret University
Dr. Arek Dakessian is a sociologist based at the Institute for Global Health and Development in Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, working in the field of refugeedom and integration. Dakessian currently manages two projects on refugee integration in the UK and Scotland respectively, including associated research on the impact of COVID on refugee populations in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Are has co-authored “Theorizing Refugeedom: Becoming Political Subjects in Beirut” in Sociological Theory and the manuscript “Young Refugees and Forced Displacement: Navigating Everyday Life in Beirut,” from a British-Academy funded research project with young refugees in Beirut.
Dr Jean-Benoît Falisse
The University of Edinburgh
Jean-Benoît Falisse is a Lecturer in the Centre of African Studies and a Fellow in the Edinburgh Futures Institute at the University of Edinburgh. As a Co-Investigator, he coordinates the Congolese stream of the project, and also leads on knowledge exchange and impact (KEI) activities.
A social scientist with training in history, development economics, and political science, Jean-Benoît’s work has focussed on the political economy and governance of basic social services in so-called fragile states, with substantial fieldwork in Sud Kivu (DR Congo) and Burundi.
Dr Germaine Furaha
Université Evangélique en Afrique / Centre d’Excellence Denis Mukwege
Germaine Furaha is Lecturer in Economics and Director of the Centre of Excellence Denis Mukwege at the Université Evangélique en Afrique (UEA-Bukavu) in DRCongo. As a Co-Investigator, she oversees research activities in the DRCongo. In collaboration with the Panzi Foundation, she also leads on SGBV stakeholder engagement in all field sites, supported by an Advocacy and Impact Officer.
Germaine has expertise on women and girls’ access to resources and benefits in the DRC context. She is currently working on research and action around the status of women, the promotion of women’s leadership and peace in the DRCongo.
Dr Kennedy Lobukulu Lolimo Genese
Kinshasa School of Public Health (KSPH)
Dr Kennedy Lobukulu Lolimo Genese is a teaching assistant in management and health policy in the Kinshasa School of Public Health (KSPH) at the University of Kinshasa. He first gained experience as a medical doctor with experience of clinical practices, before taking up his role with the KSPH where he has been involved in data collection and investigation.
Rina Ghafoerkhan
ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre
Rina Ghafoerkhan is a mental health practitioner based at ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre. She specialises in mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in conflict settings. She is a mental health and research adviser, involved in data collection and analysis on neglected mental health issues and sexual violence among Somali and Congolese displaced people. She is also conducting doctoral research at Utrect University on conflict-related sexual violence and sexual exploitation.
Mark Henderson
The University of Edinburgh
Mark Henderson is a Project Manager at the University of Edinburgh and Project Coordinator for the GCRF Protracted Displacement project.
Previously Mark worked as a Project Manager with the Scottish Ambulance Service and as a project manager and technical adviser with several International NGOs. He holds an MSc in Disaster Management and Sustainable Development and Prince 2 and Prince 2 Agile Practitioner project management certifications.
Professor Laura Jeffery
The University of Edinburgh
Laura Jeffery is Professor of Anthropology of Migration at the University of Edinburgh. She is Principal Investigator (PI) on the GCRF Protracted Displacement project, with overall responsibility for planning and coordination of project activities.
Laura has conducted ethnographic research on protracted displacement for two decades. She has worked with the displaced Chagossian community in Mauritius and the UK since 2001, most recently on human-environment relations and intangible cultural heritage (chagos.online). She has also worked in Morocco since 2016, and is Co-Director of the GCRF MADAR Network Plus, which deploys arts-based participatory methods for creative engagement with displacement and migration in the Maghreb.
Léon Kazamwali
Université Evangélique en Afrique (UEA)
Muzee L. Kazamwali is a teaching and research assistant at the Université Evangélique en Afrique (UEA) in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He also works as a research fellow in charge of survival strategies of Congolese displaced people within the Centre d’Excellence Denis Mukwege. He holds a BSc in Economics from the Université Evangélique en Afrique and an MSc in Agribusiness Management from Makerere University (Uganda).
Dr Dostin Lakika
University of the Witwatersrand
Dr Dostin Lakika obtained his Master’s and PhD degrees in Migration and Displacement from the African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS), University of the Witwatersrand. He has been researching on refugees and asylum seekers in the Southern African region for about a decade. He participated in formulating a research project at ACMS on upholding the psychosocial needs of forced migrants. Recently, he worked as a supervisor at Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in a project exploring Migrant journey pathways and the link with health outcomes in the Limpopo region.
Dostin’s areas of research include migration and displacement, former soldiers, violence and memory, migration and food consumption, (mental) health, and illness. He is also a reviewer for some peer-reviewed journals focusing on refugees and asylum seekers.
Dr Lucy Lowe
The University of Edinburgh
Lucy Lowe is a Lecturer in Social Anthropology and Director of the Edinburgh Centre for Medical Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh. As a Co-Investigator on DiSoCo, she leads on the Somali stream of research and is the ethics lead for the overall project.
Lucy’s work focuses on the relationship between reproductive health, forced migration, and motherhood. Her doctoral research examined how Somali refugee women’s experiences of displacement in Kenya and strategies for onward migration were shaped by their reproductive capacities, kinship networks, and popular notions of motherhood.
Dr Amina Jama Mahmud
Somali Institute for Development and Research Analysis (SIDRA)
Amina Jama Mahmud is Director of Research and Senior Gender Advisor at the Somali Institute for Development and Research Analysis (SIDRA) and an associate researcher at Uppsala University, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, International Maternal and Child Health (IMCH). As a Co-Investigator, she leads the Somalia team and leads on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI).
Amina’s research focuses on gender and social inclusion and health information systems. She has over 15 years’ professional experience in providing strategic leadership in evidence-based policymaking, innovative design, and implementation of needs-based, sustainable programs to improve health and livelihoods for vulnerable communities in Sweden and Somalia.
Dr Tackson Makandwa
University of the Witwatersrand
Tackson Makandwa is a postdoctoral research fellow based at the African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS), The University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg South Africa. On this project he is mostly conducting research on work package 1, identifying and analyzing current policy processes that respond to the health needs of displaced people, thereby identifying existing models for integrating those populations into health systems that could be made applicable to our various protracted displacement contexts.
Tackson has a background in Psychology and Development Studies. His interdisciplinary PhD in Migration and Displacement focuses on the intersections between migration, maternal health, and wellbeing. His interests are in migration, life in the city, mental health, and reproductive health.
Alex Makotose
The University of Edinburgh
Alex Makotose is a Senior Project Officer at the University of Edinburgh and Finance Officer for the GCRF Protracted Displacement project.
Alex has previous experience providing grant and contract management support for research and international development projects. In her last role she worked for a contract and intellectual property management consultancy where she was responsible for supporting projects implemented by research institutions, NGOs and government organisations.
Saara Martinmäki
ARQ International
Saara Martinmäki is a mental health researcher and policy adviser at ARQ International. On this project, she will be focused on the needs-based psychosocial care and expertise during the research for both researchers and participants.
Saara is finishing her PhD on the mental health and wellbeing of humanitarian aid staff and is involved in a large research project on a psychosocial health intervention for refugee settings. Her research has largely focused on stress, trauma, and wellbeing of people working in highly stressful occupations.
Brenda Metobo
Amref International University
Brenda Metobo has a background in nursing and as a public health practitioner. She has approximately 12 years’ cumulative experience in operational research, training and capacity building, curriculum and policy development, and health systems’ strengthening.
Brenda’s work has included leading roles in the development of the Kenyan National Curriculum for Training Health Care Providers in Sexual and Gender Based Violence, a Standardized National Curriculum for Teens’ Clubs for Adolescents Living with HIV for the Republic of Namibia, and a HIV Testing Services Policy for the Republic of Mauritius. She has extensive experience in the field of research with a bias for qualitative studies and analysis.
Denise Mukwege
Fondation Panzi /Centre international de Recherche Avancée et de Formation
Denise Mukwege is a social science researcher at the Centre International de Recherche Avancée et de Formation at the Panzi Foundation in DRC. She is responsible for data collection and advocacy in DRC. She holds a Masters in Sociology of Politics and Integration from the Université Felix Houphouët Boigny in the Ivory Coast. She has experience in the social and economic integration of survivors of sexual violence and of IDPs. Her research interests include the provision of support for unmarried mothers and the social integration of survivors of sexual violence in Eastern DRC.
Abdulkadir Mohamed Muse
Somali Institute for Development and Research Analysis (SIDRA)
Abdulkadir Mohamed Muse holds a bachelor’s degree in Public and environmental health from Alzaiem Alazhari University, Khartoum-Sudan. He earned his MPH In Epidemiology from North South University (NSU), Dhaka-Bangladesh. He has worked with Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS-Garowe) as a disaster manager. He is a lecturer and supervises undergraduate students at faculties of health science of Puntland State University (PSU-Garowe), University of Bosaso (UoB-Garowe), and East Africa University-Garowe campus.
Abdulkadir joined SIDRA in May 2020 as Programs Coordinator and Researcher. He has authored dozens of peer-reviewed articles mostly about the health of Somali people. His research interests are mainly in the fields of infectious diseases, maternal and child health as well as health policy and planning.
Dr Paulin Mutombo
Kinshasa School of Public Health (KSPH)
Paulin Mutombo is Associate Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Kinshasa. As a Co-Investigator, he leads the Eastern DRC team on the GCRF Protracted Displacement Project.
Paulin is a medical doctor, public health specialist, and epidemiologist, with expertise in health systems.
Prof Dr Henry Ngongo
Université Evangélique en Afrique (UEA)
Henry Ngongo Muganza teaches in the Faculty of Science and Management at the Université Evangélique en Afrique (UEA) in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is a researcher in the Eastern DR Congo team and leads the field research as team leader of investigators (field research assistant). He has a PhD in Economics, with research interests in the analysis of economic policies including public health policies.
Professor Joachim Osur
Amref International University
Joachim Osur is Associate Professor of sexual and reproductive health at the Amref International University and Vice Chancellor. As a Co-Investigator, he leads the Kenya team on the GCRF Protracted Displacement project.
Joachim is a public health, reproductive health, and sexual medicine specialist with a wide experience in health programming in the African context. He was recently nominated to the board of the Centre for Reproductive Rights, a global NGO that advocates for sexual and reproductive rights across the world. He is also a board member of Health Rights International Kenya Chapter.
Prof Jo Vearey
University of the Witwatersrand
Jo Vearey is Associate Professor and Director of the African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS) at Wits University in Johannesburg. As a Co-Investigator, she leads the South Africa research team on the GCRF Protracted Displacement project.
Jo has a background in public health and her interdisciplinary research focuses on the intersections between migration and health. She coordinates the Migration and Health Project Southern Africa (maHp), directs the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) Centre of Excellence in Migration and Mobility – hosted by ACMS – and is Vice-Chair of the global Migration, Health, and Development Research Initiative (MHADRI).
Dr Rebecca Walker
University of the Witwatersrand
Rebecca Walker is a member of the South African research team based at Wits University. She leads work package 2, identifying key neglected chronic mental health conditions (and comorbid physical conditions) associated with displacement, violence, and gendered conflict.
With a background in social anthropology, Rebecca has worked broadly on issues related to gender, migration, and health using an intersectional lens. Her work as a postdoctoral fellow and then research fellow at the African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS) at Wits has focused on access to healthcare, xenophobia and the survival strategies of asylum-seeker and refugee women.
David Nieuwe Weme
ARQ International
David Nieuwe Weme is a Researcher at ARQ International, specializing in developing MHPSS policy and interventions in (post-)conflict settings. On this project he is conducting research on neglected mental health issues among displaced populations.
David’s previous research focused on the effects of the global crisis response system on local networks and coping strategies in the context of the 2014-2016 West-Africa Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone. He explores linkages between health and culture, trying to make social science insights relevant for field practitioners and policy makers.
Previous team members
Said Mohamoud
As the Research Fellow on the GCRF Protracted Displacement project, Said was responsible for the successful implementation of in-country research field work whilst working with the Somali Institute for Development and Research (SIDRA).
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Team page main banner photo by: Clayton Boeyink
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