Ten researchers from across sub-Saharan Africa have been selected for the inaugural group of Countdown fellows and will spend the next 12 months developing individual research projects on topics that include family planning, effective coverage, immunization, and health facility statistics. The homepage for the fellowship is available here.
The Countdown to 2030 fellowship program is a multilateral collaboration to strengthen analytical capacity for monitoring and tracking the progress of life-saving interventions for reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition (RMNCAH+N). Each year, Countdown will recruit about ten fellows to participate in a 12-month fellowship to work on a specific research project related to RMNCAH+N.
Applications for the first cohort of fellows were submitted April 30, 2023.
Below is the list of selected fellows. Congratulations to all selected!
| Name | Country | Organization(s) | Research topic |
| Sophia Kagoye | Tanzania | Ifakara Health Institute and NIMR | Trends and patterns of older children and adolescent mortality (5-19 years) at a subnational level in Tanzania |
| Mwiche Msukuma | Zambia | University of Zambia (School of Public Health) | Assessment of births in CEmONC facilities and referral times of Maternal and Neonatal cases in Zambia |
| Misrak Getnet | Ethiopia | Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) | Assessing the Trends, Determinants and reasons for low Effective Coverage of selected MCH services in Ethiopia |
| Rose Muthee | Kenya | Strathmore University (Institute of Mathematical Sciences) and MOH (M&E unit) | Maternal Mortality Ratio Estimation at both national and county levels in Kenya |
| Akua Amponsaa Obeng | Ghana | University of Ghana (School of Public Health) | Modelling correlates of modern contraceptive use among urban poor communities in Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Ronald Wasswa | Uganda | Makerere University School of Public Health | Subnational trends and inequities of zero-dose, dropout and under-immunization among Ugandan children aged 0-23 months |
| Absolom Mbinda | Zimbabwe | University of Zimbabwe Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and FHI | Predictive modelling of Neonatal Mortality in Zimbabwe using survey data: A machine learning approach. |
| Francis Kabasubabo | DR Congo | Ecole de Santé Publique de l’Université de Kinshasa and the IPAS Project | An analysis of the prevalence rates of unintended pregnancies and contraceptive use amongst women residing in Kinshasa, DR Congo, during the seven-year period between 2014 and 2022 |
| Douba Nabié | Burkina Faso | Institut Supérieur des Sciences de la Population (ISSP) and Univ Ki-Zerbo | Profils infranationaux de planification familiale au Burkina Faso : tendances, inégalités et atteinte de la cible 2025 |
| Moussa Souaibou | Cameroon | Institut National de la Statistique Cameroun | Analyse des tendances, des facteurs explicatifs et des inégalités d’opportunité d’utilisation des services de santé maternelle au Cameroun |
Learn more about the selection process here.