Hometown:
I was born in Kabwe, Zambia and I’m of the Tonga, Zulu, and Bisa tribes.
Fun Fact:
I’m considered a polyglot in that I am fluent in 5 languages: English, Nyanja, Bemba, Tonga, and Zulu
Where did you attend school?
I received both my Bachelors degree in Microbiology and Masters in Health Policy, Economics and Management from the University of Zambia (UNZA).
What is your profession?
I’m a Senior Research Associate at the Zambia Center for Applied Health Research and Development and a mother of a very inquisitive 5 year-old. At work, I focus on identifying risk factors associated with hospital acquired infections among infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the University Teaching Hospital. Healthcare facilities in Zambia, like other institutions in sub-Saharan Africa, are plagued with limited resources and understaffing both interacting to place babies at increased risk of contracting infections and dying. In many cases, the nurse to patient ratio is 1:30, which is of greatest concern. After identifying these modifiable risk factors, I recommend low cost infection control interventions to decrease infant mortality.
How did you choose that profession?
Though my family thought I’d be better suited for law, my interests have always rested in science and public health. My personal experiences actually motivated my current work. I know first hand both professionally and personally the challenges of giving birth to a child in a low resource country like Zambia. After giving birth to my son, I spent countless hours at the NICU due to him contracting an infection during his hospital stay. I had a healthy pregnancy and delivery but noticed when it was time for him to go home he had fallen ill. I wanted answers but most importantly I had questions. My son fully recovered, but “What about the next mother whose baby would be born perfectly healthy but would contract an infection after a hospital stay?” “Would she have the same positive outcome of her baby recovering as myself?” With so many questions, I was motivated to search for answers through my current profession.
What is your hope for Zambia?
I have countless hopes for Zambia. But of most importance, I think some of the health related problems we experience are a result of the scarcity of trained health professionals who are native to this country. As a native of Zambia, I’ve observed what is known as the ‘brain drain’ or the migration of trained professionals from developing countries to more developed regions in pursuit of a better quality of work life and higher salaries. As long as I can recall, Zambia has been losing a pool of skilled workers to provide necessary services. Not just within the medical community, but engineers, techs and educators are within the pool of missing intellectual property. Many of them were educated in our country but have left on a quest for better opportunities. Their absence continues a cycle of poverty and creates a gap in the number of specialists who can strengthen our health system. So one of my hopes for Zambia is that my brothers and sisters come home… we need your help.
