Population Council Fellow: Dela Nai

Growing up in Ghana and Ethiopia, Dr. Dela Nai was inspired by African women scientists, including Prof. Akosua Adomako Ampofo and Dr. Miriam Were. After obtaining her PhD in development sociology and social demography from Cornell University, Dr. Nai joined the Population Council’s Zambia office as a Fred H. Bixby Fellow.

Bixby Fellowships matched early-career social and biomedical scientists from low- and middle-income countries with experienced Population Council mentors. During her fellowship, Dr. Nai led the qualitative component of the Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (AGEP), a large, longitudinal research study. She came away from the experience with important research, leadership, and decisionmaking skills as well as greater confidence.

Dr. Nai subsequently returned to her home country and joined the Population Council’s Ghana office as Staff Associate in 2014. Today, she is the Acting Country Representative, overseeing and conducting research in Ghana and Francophone West Africa. Her studies have included the feasibility and acceptability of a self-administered injectable contraceptive in Ghana and the feasibility of private pharmacies providing family planning services in Senegal. She works closely with governments and nongovernmental partners to utilize evidence from her research to make access to and use of family planning services a reality across the West Africa region and beyond.

Learn more about our Fellows.