Utano Public Health Chats – Details, episodes & analysis

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Utano Public Health Chats

Fiona Gambanga

Business

Frequency: 1 episode/62d. Total Eps: 26

A podcast where people get to learn more about public health work in Africa and how to navigate their public health careers. Each episode features an in depth interview with a public health practitioner and/or researcher from an African country and/or working in African countries in public health. Conversation is about how they ended up working in public health, what they do at a high level in their current work, what they love about their field and career path and what words of wisdom they would like to share with the audience.

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🇬🇧 Great Britain - careers
01/08/2026
#84

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https://www.thruzim.org/
2 shares
https://www.hse.gov.uk/
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https://www.ilo.org/global/lang--en/index.htm
1 share

https://twitter.com/dzidzo_safepad
1 share
https://twitter.com/africanyas
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https://twitter.com/wordsafrica
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https://www.instagram.com/dzidzo_safepad
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https://www.instagram.com/the_menstrual_doctor
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Score global : 17%

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Episode 25-Interview with Dr. Nyasha Dzavakwa

Season 5 · Episode 3

Thursday, July 30, 2026 • Duration 01:04:36

Check out our conversation with Nyasha as she shares her career journey.

Dr. Nyasha Dzavakwa is a medical doctor and epidemiologist based in Harare, Zimbabwe. Her work focuses on improving health outcomes for children, adolescents and young people living with HIV.

Nyasha trained as a medical doctor before completing an MSc in Epidemiology and Implementation Science from the University of the Witwatersrand and a PhD in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Her PhD research explored the effect of an electronic monitoring device informed adherence intervention on antiretroviral therapy adherence among young people with HIV in Zimbabwe at risk of virologic failure. She conducted and led a randomised controlled trial to implement the digital adherence intervention and embedded a mixed-methods process evaluation within it. Nyasha also previously served as the clinical lead and Work Package 1 lead for a multi-country trial investigating the effects of vitamin D supplementation on bone health among adolescents living with HIV in Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Currently Dr. Nyasha is a SOFAR Postdoctoral fellow and clinical researcher at The Health Research Unit Zimbabwe, within the Biomedical Research and Training Institute.She serves as a co-Principle Investigator and clinical lead for the ARTful Ageing study, a Wellcome-funded programme investigating the mechanisms of ageing among children with perinatally acquired HIV in Zimbabwe. Her current research interests are focused on understanding brain health, neurodevelopment and neuroimaging, particularly understanding how living with HIV from early life may influence cognitive and brain health as children grow older.

Through her work, she hopes to contribute to research that is locally relevant and can ultimately improve the long-term health and wellbeing of children and young people living with HIV.

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Episode 24 -Interview Dr. Bisi Bright

Season 5 · Episode 2

Wednesday, April 8, 2026 • Duration 48:32

In this episode we talked to Dr Bisi Bright from Nigeria.

Dr Bisi Bright is a Global Public Health Enthusiast, Social Entrepreneur, Health Systems Researcher, Adjunct Lecturer, Consultant Clinical Pharmacist, and Public Health Practitioner. She is 1st Vice Chairman and CEO of LiveWell Initiative LWI, a self-sustaining nonprofit healthcare social enterprise, which has impacted over 2 million Nigerians and thousands of Ghanaians with health literacy, improved overall health, and wellness.

She serves as an Internship Preceptor for MPH and DrPH students at Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health and is a visiting Doctoral Research ‘Opponent’ Faculty at the University of Helsinki, Finland.

She is a Board Member of the National Hepatitis Coalition in Nigeria, and a Governing Council Member of the Nigeria-Britain Association. She initiated and designed study protocols for COVID-19 Response in Africa, which, along with members of her organization the LiveWell Initiative LWI and its clinical research team, have successfully published 6 recent Peer Reviewed Open Access Scientific Journal Manuscripts, on COVID-19. She is the Country representative of GIANT Nigeria, a Healthcare Organisation related to Vaccines Hesitancy. In 2017 she was recognised by the Economist Intelligence Unit EIU, as Global Changemaker Hepatitis C, and won the Presidential Commendation for work on Hepatitis, awarded by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In partnership with the Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination CGHE the LiveWell subsidiary Women in Hepatitis Africa founded by her, has been promoting the uptake of hepatitis B birth dose vaccination by newborns within 24 hours of birth, as a key strategy for preventing mother to child transmission of hepatitis PMTCT, in line with the global hepatitis elimination goals for 2030. In line with the global PPPR (postpandemic preparedness and response), she aunched the PostPandemic Women’s of Afica PPWA, helping African women to build up resilience and mental health. Bisi is also the African Representative of the EWAH Awards originally a Commonwealth Institute Program.

Her newest initiative is the Global Public Health University and Institute, two learning institutions that are promoting healthcare in the future, in line with digital technologies and transformative healthcare.

Her greatest passion is, working in communities and reaching everyone with healthcare.

More information about LiveWell Initiative and its activities and programs can be found here:

https://newstellers.ng/nigeria-britain-association-livewell-initiative-promote-preventive-healthcare-at-2026-fair/

Episode 15 - Interview with Dr. Godfrey Musuka

Thursday, June 22, 2023 • Duration 53:14

In this episode we hear from Dr. Godfrey Musuka, an international Public and Evaluation Consultant, HIV/AIDS M&E and public health expert with over 25 years of experience. We talked about: Who is Dr Musuka? His background and how ended up working in public health. Countries and areas he has worked in Key career experiences that shaped his expertise How many years’ experience does he have in the field? What has changed and what has stayed the same? What does Dr. Musuka call himself? How did Dr Musuka end up studying Veterinary medicine? And how did he end up pivoting into public health more specifically? A run through of Dr. Musuka’s key career experiences, where they led him, and what he worked on Does he find that all his experiences and trainings have connected or intersected over time? Was One Health a thing back in the day? What was his approach for the different opportunities in his career? Did he plan it out? The importance of being open and being willing to try new projects and challenges (even if you fail!) What is Dr. Musuka working on now? -Highlights of current and recently completed projects Working with different stakeholders at different levels as your career grows What working with and in different countries looks like and key things to keep in mind to ensure success Different key people Dr. Musuka has worked with that have been influential and key in his growth and development Always reach out and ask questions so you can listen and learn The importance of relationships and having people who can hold you accountable Different people can help you in your career and that includes your family and your children Another BRTI guest on the show! Making the connection How many degrees does Dr Musuka have? The importance of continual learning and what that looks like for Dr Musuka Public health can have people from different areas and backgrounds in training and still eg Accountants and Economists How does Dr Musuka define Public Health? Public health as a broad, inclusive and evolving field Key challenges and issues that Dr Musuka has seen in the field with all his experiences Words of wisdom to young people out there regarding career success

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Episode 14 - Interview with Dr. Constancia Mavodza

Friday, December 23, 2022 • Duration 01:00:24

Check out our season finale with Dr. Constancia Mavodza , a global and public health (process evaluation) practitioner, with experience in coordination, implementing and evaluating public health projects focusing on HIV/AIDS, SRHR, human resources for health, and AGYW.

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Episode 13 - Interview with Chrystal Bonzo

Friday, November 18, 2022 • Duration 50:51

Who is Chrystal and what does she do? What led Chrystal to the work she does today? What Chrystal studied at the undergraduate level and how that led her to public health work Chrystal’s decision to pursue a Master of Public Health degree (MPH) and what she is focusing on in her program as she is pursuing it (Community Health) Why Chrystal chose to do the online option for her MPH degree A day in the life of Chrystal and her roles Dzidzo safepad initiative: what its about, what motivated it and what work goes into it Where funding and support for Dzidzo Safepad comes from Global Changemakers and their support for Dzidzo safepad-https://www.global-changemakers.net/ How long does each pad last? How they target and decide which schools to work with What Chrystal enjoys and loves about working on Dzidzo Safepad Chrystal’s role as a Her Voice ambassador through the Global Fund How Chrystal defines public health for herself Importance of equity and inclusivity in public health work and interventions Word to the wise- advice for young people and people looking to enter the field Resources and links: *https://twitter.com/dzidzo_safepad *https://www.instagram.com/dzidzo_safepad/ * The ecocash number for Dzidzo Safepad donations is +263 772935923

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Episode 12 - Interview with Sandra Isano

Friday, October 28, 2022 • Duration 49:50

In this episode our guest is Sandra Isano a Rwandan pharmacist, Lecturer, and Coordinator for Community Based Education in the Department of Community Health, and Social Medicine at the University of Global Health Equity with over 10 years of experience in the field. We talked about: Sandra’s background and the work she does now and where she works Where Sandra’s journey in public health started, and what she wanted to be when she was younger How working as a community pharmacist got her interested in patients beyond the treatment and medication they were coming to seek Her work as a fellow with Global Health Corps Rwanda’s High School pathway and where people choose to specialize Which one’s are the community pharmacies? How and why pharmacies serve as a first line of care and health service delivery How capacity building at pharmacies can be an additional solution in provided primary care How pharmacy, GHC fellowship and now her current work as a lecturer doing community community research all inspire and motivate her interests What her current work at UGHE looks like and includes Teaching, research and community service Highlights of some of Sandra’s research projects and outcomes from them Sandra’s PhD project, and what motivated her to study for a PhD a focus on teen mothers at refugee camps in Rwanda, and what questions and information she will be looking into Sandra’s favorite thing about working in public health How Sandra defines public health Sandra’s least favorite thing about working in public health Words of advice to those starting out in the public health field and their careers Love as a public health intervention and the social ecological model! https://ghcorps.org/ -Global Health Corps website https://ughe.org/ -University of Global Health Equity website https://ur.ac.rw/- University of Rwanda website

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Episode 11-Interview with Tatenda Diura

Friday, October 7, 2022 • Duration 01:07:22

In this episode we chat with Tatenda Diura, a humanitarian worker from Zimbabwe. We discuss: A brief introduction of her background, her current work and where she is based, and what she specializes in, in her work What is safeguarding and how long has she been doing this work? Her background and journey to public health , what she studied, her internship experience in Zimbabwe How she found out about public health and how she ended up doing her Masters degree in public health What influenced her career decisions at every juncture in her journey How she used resources available to her to search for jobs How she navigated the catch 22 of jobs requiring experience and experience being gotten through jobs and got her first job after her Master’s degree How she has leveraged changing organizations and roles to grow in her career The principle of do not harm and how it is the cornerstone of safeguarding work in humanitarian settings Examples of the kind of work she does in safeguarding Behavior Change Communication and how her sociology degree is now relevant in her work What a survivor centered approach in humanitarian work is and what that looks like The importance of understanding context in populations that we serve in public health How heavy humanitarian work can be at times What Tatenda’s likes the most about the work that she does What measures are in place in the humanitarian field to ensure that humanitarian workers maintain their mental, physical and emotional wellbeing Burnout in humanitarian work The risk of being desensitized doing the work and the importance of rest and unplugging between projects and assignments The importance of empathy and mot sympathy while doing work What keeps Tatenda going in the field, even with high turnover rates What does public health mean for Tatenda Vulnerable populations that Tatenda works with and how that is defined Words of wisdom How Tatenda has used LinkedIn to grow in her career

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Episode 10-Interview with Dr. Chido Dziva Chikwari

Friday, September 23, 2022 • Duration 55:27

In this episode we hear from Dr. Chido Dziva Chikwari, an Epidemiologist from Zimbabwe about her work and career journey in public health for the past 9 years. We talked about: Chido’s current roles and how long she has been doing health research work Chido’s background and career journey and how she ended up doing the work she does now How she ended up doing an Master’s degree in Epidemiology and what influenced her choices The importance of career guidance and the right vocabulary in career decision making What is an epidemiologist and what do they do?- With examples The things she likes about working in Epidemiology and research How she has used her skills to pivot to different program areas over the years Her research project on increasing access and uptake of HIV testing for children in Zimbabwe that she conducted as part of her PhD How the findings from her research work became relevant when COVID-19 broke out in 2019 How we are going to make a movie on Chido’s Doctoral research What are Chido’s top favorite reasons she likes about working in public health research The value and importance of having a good community of people to work with What public health means to Chido For the good of everybody What good for everyone includes and entails from access, universal health coverage, priority populations, COVID-19 global response The importance of meeting people where they are in public health interventions eg. COVID-19 vaccines and prevention Chido’s advice to young people and all people of all ages on career paths What Chido knows now about the field of public health that wishes she had known or understood earlier Public Health is a lot of work? Where is the money in Public health? Is there money in public health work? Career advice and tips are relevant throughout the lifecourse Things change, career pivots happen, life happens Check out https://www.thruzim.org/ for all the research work

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Episode 9 - Interview with Joy Kamunyori

Friday, September 9, 2022 • Duration 59:04

In this episode we hear from Joy Kamunyori, a digital health and project management professional from Kenya about her 14 year career assessing, developing and implementing public health IT systems in sub-Saharan African countries. We discussed: Joy’s background what she studied and how she ended working in public health How her passion for education and development and skillset landed her in a public health role that started of her career How she became interested in Computers and eventually chose to study computer science What she likes and drew her to coding and computer science How mentorship played a significant role in her career and choices at many junctures Her experience pursuing graduate studies in Computer Science What her work looks like now, in scale and range and the kinds of problems she supports solving How she considers herself an interpreter in her work in digital health and what that looks like How her roles have changed as her career has progressed in the field The relationship between Public health, education and development How Digital Health as a field and use of technology for health started, emerged and has now expanded to be integral in public health systems Challenges and key considerations for countries as they transition to having fully digital health information systems and how Joy has come across and been part of these conversations What are Joy’s favorite things about doing her work What public health means to Joy Joy’s advice to a younger self Top 3 skills she recommends to work on in the field

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Episode 8- Interview with Will Moyo

Friday, August 19, 2022 • Duration 54:19

In this episode we talked with Will Moyo an Bioengineer from Zimbabwe. Will is the Engineering Innovation Design Studio Manager for Rice 360 Institute for Global Health Technologies. We discussed: Will’s background and the kind of work she does now What is Bioengineering and what training she received to get there What motivated her to pursue a career in Bioengineering Invention education and how its used at the Design studios where she works What are Design Studios and training offered there What Will does on a day to day basis in her role The different kind of funders who support their work The need for support and investment in inventions, innovation and education for long term success “Funding people to fail” Challenges associated with innovation and global health technologies in an African context What is Will's favorite part of the work that she does The value of impactful work and seeing effort come to fruition What public health means to Will Everything is Public Health! Is Will Shuri from Black Panther??? The importance of medical devices and access in public health The Importance of investing in education for health so as to improve health outcomes The need to train engineers and technical workforce practically so they know how to work with biomedical equipment in the real world Other African countries where the model of design studios are currently being implemented Who makes a good Biomedical engineer? What it takes and good skills to have in the field The different kind of stakeholders Will and her students get to work with Regulation and standardization for medical device design and invention in African countries Challenges and frustrations from working in education and invention and innovative work in the global health technologies space How their program was able to generate income for themselves by being innovative at the beginning of the pandemic What does Will know now, that she wishes she knew earlier Words of Wisdom Resource plugs Tips of reaching out and getting opportunities in the field

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Utano Public Health Chats – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

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Apple Podcasts

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Apple Podcasts

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Utano Public Health Chats – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other15

Twitter4

Instagram2

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other15

Twitter4

Instagram2