Project in Kenya

Investigators:Trainees in Nairobi

African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)

Additional support provided by:

Diana Awuor, Training Program Assistant, APHRC 

Candidates at the Masters and PhD levels are welcome to get involved with different types of research projects at APHRC.

A note about APHRC Projects:

The African Population and Health Research Center places trainees according to the current needs of their array of researchers and active projects. Trainees may express in their application the areas of interest for a potential placement. However, final project availability is determined during the admission and matching process in collaboration with trainees, APHRC and MHRT. 

Focus areas typically available include:

  • Research and related capacity strengthening
  • Data measurement
  • Maternal and child well-being
  • Urban health
  • Urbanization and well-being in Africa 

The below projects are provided as examples only and will vary: 

Sample Project 1: Data Science and Evaluation

The Data Science and Evaluation Program has been tasked to map longitudinal datasets in mental health in Africa. This is going to be done in collaboration with the I-DAIR project that recently launched an online tool that maps all mental health researchers in the global north and south. We would like students’ support to review the R&D tool extract data on African mental health researchers. The students will be expected to prepare a final sheet with researchers /studies with longitudinal mental health data, identify the key variables collected in preparation for a large African data repository on MH data. The R&D tool is found at: https://mentalhealth.i-dair.org/#/guide-dashboard. 

Techniques/methods students should have familiarity with:

  • Ability to fully engage with on mapping tools
  • Work comfortably with MS Excel for recording data records and perform basic descriptive analysis from the generated data
  • Presentation skills
  • Writing skills to summarize findings from the mapping exercise
     

Sample Project 2: Research and Capacity Strengthening

Through strategic partnerships, the Research and Capacity Strenthening (RRCS) Center strives to nurture African research leadership by building a critical mass of researchers to meaningfully engage with policy actors in developing, reviewing and implementing policies and programs relevant to the continent’s development.  The Training Unit within the Research and Related Capacity Strengthening (RRCS) division will be collecting follow-up data using both quantitative (online surveys) and qualitative (interviews and focus group discussions [FGDs]) to examine the impact of short course training conducted. The short courses focus on different topics including Implementation Research; Research Governance and Leadership; Violence Against Women Data Collection, Analysis, and Use; Systematic Review and meta-Analysis. The interns/fellows  would support data collection, analysis, and report preparation, including writing scientific papers based on data from these activities.


Techniques/methods students should have Familiarity with:

  1. Ability to fully engage with on mapping tools
  2. Work comfortably with MS Excel for recording data records and perform basic
    descriptive analysis from the generated data
  3. Presentation skills
  4. Writing skills to summarize findings from the mapping exercise 

A note about the host site:

Nairobi is the capital and largest city in Kenya with 2.7 million people living in the capital.   The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) is a premier research-to-policy institution, generating evidence, strengthening research and related capacity in the African research and development ecosystem, and engaging policy to inform action on health and development. The Center is Africa-based and African-led, with its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, and a West Africa Regional Office (WARO) in Dakar, Senegal. APHRC seeks to drive change by developing strong African research leadership and promoting evidence-informed decision-making (EIDM) across sub-Saharan Africa. Trainees will be placed at the headquarters in Nairobi. 

APHRC has implemented numerous research projects over the last two decades and generated evidence that has shaped policy and practice across Africa, resulting in several global recognitions and awards. Its Africa-wide mandate and reach, the wide network of partners across the continent and globally, and successful large-scale programs have certainly put the Center on the global map.

The Center’s portfolio comprises over 100 projects in more than 35 countries involving global, regional, and national stakeholders. As a progressive African-based and African-led global research center invested in creating legacy impact, our work centers on three integrated programmatic areas: Research, Research, and Related Capacity Strengthening (RRCS) and Policy Engagement and Communications (PEC).

Housing is available withing walking distance to APHRC with their partner, Ulwazi Place.