Pascalina Chanda

Dr. Pascalina Chanda-Kapata is an accomplished Public Health Specialist with over 23 years of cumulative experience in public health, health systems strengthening, program evaluation, research, health economics and health policy. This includes working on malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, health security, infectious disease surveillance, M&E, research, health care financing, grants, political economy analysis, governance and capacity building in health and international development programming across Southern Africa. Dr Chanda-Kapata has experience working with health and development partnerships on both short and long-term consultancies in Malawi, Lesotho, Mozambique,Tanzania, Botswana, Rwanda, Kenya, Nigeria including remotely across East and Southern Africa member states; an international tenure at ECSA Health `Community and a 16-year tenure with the Ministry of Health in Zambia. She also has significant experience working with international organisations such as World Health Organisations (WHO), World Bank (WB), PATH, USAID/CDC, UNICEF, CHAI, IDInsight, EQUINET, CIHR, Rotary, pharmaceutical companies, faith based organisations, academic institutions and civil society. Her contributions include expanding the research portfolio of the national malaria program which led to providing evidence for programmatic improvements and policy change; strengthening health research systems, contributing to development of National Public Health Institutes; community systems strengthening, rolling out health innovations; leading efforts to develop and capacitate human resources for health at all levels of care and various program evaluations in infectious diseases and maternal health. She also has led program evaluations in community systems and gender mainstreaming in the health sector. In her role with the East and Central Africa Health Community, Dr. Chanda-Kapata led research and evaluation activities for health interventions under the World Bank- funded Southern Africa TB and Health System Support Project (SATBHSSP), providing technical support in Malawi, Lesotho, Mozambique and Zambia and providing quality assurance for the design and implementation of the phase 2 of the Global Fund TIMS Project for the SADC members states and providing quality assurance for the research component of the EAPHLN World Bank funded project in East Africa. She has led and managed multidisciplinary teams extensively, included for national MOHs, for example as Co-Principal Investigator /Survey Coordinator for the National Tuberculosis Prevalence Survey (2012-2014) and as Principal Surveillance and Research Officer for eight years, during which her responsibilities included planning and coordinating operational and regulatory strategy for health research and disease surveillance for the Zambian Ministry of Health, economic evaluations in malaria, providing quality assurance for national surveys (Demographic health surveys, malaria indicator surveys, drug resistance surveys, health facility assessments, etc) and training of staff in operational research. She has experience working with country Global Fund grant making, implementation and evaluations both at national and regional level. Experienced in international development programming, strategic and operational planning, providing technical/implementation support to member states, quality assurance and facilitating high level meetings. She holds a PhD in Environmental Sciences and Public Health as well as a Master of Public Health (Health Economics) degree. First author and co-author on more than 70 peer-reviewed articles on malaria, national health research systems, reproductive health, health policy, health economics, tuberculosis, non-tuberculous mycobacteria, HIV/AIDS and COVID-19.