I am an economist and researcher, and I hold a PhD in Economics from Stellenbosch University, South Africa. My research journey has been largely shaped by economics and development. My work focuses on answering questions about how things work and why some people, societies and countries are left behind. This work highlights issues closer to people’s everyday lives: access to healthcare, inequality, maternal and child health, nutrition.<\/p>\n
My work has allowed me to look at development questions from different angles and work with researchers and institutions across the continent. Additionally, my research has helped me appreciate the real story behind datasets, particularly in resource-constrained environments. The numbers tell us something, but our responsibility is to understand what those numbers mean for people’s lives and, ultimately, how evidence can contribute to better decisions.<\/p>\n
As an economist, I wanted to understand why development outcomes differ across people, societies, and countries. Research let me explore who is left behind in service delivery and why. These are important questions in ensuring equitable and sustainable access to services without leaving anyone behind. If someone is poor, lives far from a health facility, or faces other social and economic barriers, their ability to access quality healthcare might be different from that of someone more privileged.<\/p>\n
I enjoy the process of asking a question, looking at the evidence, sometimes discovering that my initial assumptions were wrong, and then trying to understand what the findings mean. Research is more than an academic exercise for me, as it provides a platform to contribute, even in a small way, to understanding and addressing the challenges our societies face.<\/p>\n
My journey with AERC started in 2017 when I attended the Joint Facility Electives in Nairobi, Kenya, for three months during my master\u2019s studies. Since then, I have attended workshops and conferences organised by the institution. In addition, I am a recipient of an AERC proposal and research grant. One of the things I appreciate most about AERC is the opportunity to learn alongside other African researchers. Research can sometimes feel like an individual journey, but AERC creates opportunities for researchers to come together, challenge one another’s thinking and learn from different perspectives.<\/p>\n
I have particularly benefited from the technical training opportunities. For example, I participated in training on panel and time-series econometrics in 2024 and an impact evaluation retooling workshop in 2026, which strengthened my research methodological skills. I have published papers using the knowledge from these workshops and trainings. The experience was not just about learning techniques; it was also about engaging with other researchers and understanding how different people approach similar research problems. I have collaborated with several researchers I met during these workshops, and some of these interactions became long-term research collaborations and friendships.<\/p>\n
AERC has also helped me appreciate the importance of building an African research community. The continent has many talented researchers, and creating spaces where we can collaborate, exchange ideas and support each other is incredibly important. AERC has reinforced my belief that researchers should be at the centre of generating evidence on development challenges.<\/p>\n
I am particularly passionate about health inequality and access to healthcare, especially where these intersect with poverty, gender and the wellbeing of women and children. This is important because health is not just a health-sector issue but an economic and development issue. My research has focused on issues such as inequality in access to healthcare (e.g. antenatal care, child nutrition, maternal health) and the consequences of gaps in health systems. I have also examined how public resources are distributed and whether those resources translate into equitable access to healthcare. I am particularly interested in answering questions such as: who is and who is not benefiting from services? Where are the gaps? And what can be done differently?<\/p>\n
Africa continues to experience significant inequality in healthcare access, low investment in health infrastructure, and weak health financing. These contribute to poor health outcomes, including high mortality and morbidity rates, compared to other regions of the world. Ensuring a healthy Africa is imperative, as it translates into a productive workforce that can contribute to the continent’s economic development. Therefore, I want my research to contribute to a better understanding of how development in Africa can be more inclusive.<\/p>\n
This will ensure that where someone is born, their income, gender, or social circumstances do not determine whether they can access basic services and opportunities.<\/p>\n
Generally, women in research face many challenges including gender bias and discrimination, limited access to research funding, work\u2013family and caregiving responsibilities, and limited access to professional networks and mentorship. These aside, research itself is generally demanding, and there are times when one spends months working, only to come up with unexpected results, papers get rejected, and analyses have to be redone. In addition, as a researcher, you receive critical comments from reviewers, which might result in one questioning oneself and one’s contribution in the field. It is important to understand that these experiences are part of the research process.<\/p>\n
In research, it is important not to take rejections personally. A rejection does not mean that one is a failed researcher, but it is an opportunity to strengthen, reframe, or submit the ideas somewhere else. Research can be lonely, so mentorship, collaboration and professional networks are extremely important. I have learned the importance of having people around you who encourage you, challenge you and believe in your work. And perhaps one of the biggest lessons has been to become comfortable without knowing everything.<\/p>\n
Completing my PhD is certainly one of the achievements I am proud of. A PhD is a long journey, and there are many moments when you wonder whether you will make it to the end, but I did. Beyond the PhD, I am proud of how my research journey has evolved. I started research focusing on regional economic integration and trade and moved towards health, inequality and human development. This transition is meaningful to me as I became more interested in asking policy-important questions: who is affected, why are they affected, and what can we do about it?<\/p>\n
I have published more than ten research papers in peer-reviewed journals. My research contributes to conversations around healthcare inequality, maternal and child health, and broader development policy. Having published research is rewarding, but what means even more to me is knowing that the evidence can potentially inform how policymakers think about these issues.<\/p>\n
My advice would be not to wait until you feel completely ready. You will always feel that there is someone who knows more than you, has published more than you, or is further ahead in their career. That is normal and should not stop you. It is normal to be curious, ask questions, read widely, find mentors and build relationships with people who can guide you and also people who will challenge your thinking. Most importantly, don’t be afraid of rejection.<\/p>\n
Many times, you will submit papers, apply for opportunities and receive rejections. Sometimes, attend conferences and feel like everyone else knows more than you. But it is important not to allow one setback to define you. I would also encourage young women to develop both their technical skills and their ability to communicate. Being able to analyse data is important but being able to explain why your research matters is equally important.<\/p>\n
And finally, don’t feel that you must become a researcher who looks like everyone else; find your own questions, your own voice and your own area of contribution. There is room for everyone in research.<\/p>\n
I am excited about the possibility of doing research that is increasingly connected to policy and real-world development challenges. There are so many important questions that remain unanswered across Africa, including on health inequalities, climate change, unemployment, energy poverty, gender inequality, demographic changes and pressures on public resources, to mention a few. I am particularly interested in work that brings these issues together rather than looking at them in isolation.<\/p>\n
For example, recent research I have been involved in has examined issues around maternal health and malaria prophylaxis stock-outs in Zimbabwe, while other work has explored inequality in public health spending and access to healthcare. I am also excited about collaboration. Some of the most interesting research happens when people from different backgrounds bring diverse perspectives to the same problem.<\/p>\n
And I would like to continue contributing to research capacity in Africa. The continent needs more researchers who are not only producing evidence but also mentoring the next generation and strengthening the institutions that support research.<\/p>\n
Research is a journey. When you look at someone’s CV, you see the degrees, publications, conferences and achievements. What everyone does not see are the papers that didn’t work, the opportunities that didn’t come through, the uncertainty, the long nights and the times when one wondered whether they were good enough. These experiences are also part of the journey.<\/p>\n
I would encourage researchers, particularly young African women, to see themselves as knowledge producers and not only as consumers of research produced elsewhere. Researchers have the capacity to ask their own questions, generate their own evidence and shape the development conversations that affect their communities.<\/p>\n
It is important to support one another, as success becomes more meaningful when opportunities are created for others to succeed too. If my journey can encourage even one young woman to think, “maybe I can do this too,” then that is something I would be very proud of.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":16430,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"class_list":["post-16426","women_in_research","type-women_in_research","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/aerc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/women_in_research\/16426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/aerc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/women_in_research"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/aerc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/women_in_research"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/aerc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/aerc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}