Dennis Matanda

Dennis Matanda is a Research Associate at the Population Council, Nairobi. His area of research covers maternal, child and adolescent health with extensive experience in the use of survey data such as Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS). He has severally collaborated with governments, program implementers, and UN agencies including WHO, UNICEF, and UNFPA on various health topics. Matanda is involved in implementation science where he has provided leadership as a principal investigator on several studies. Currently, he is the deputy team leader of the Female Genital Mutilation FGM Data Hub project that provides data and measurement support to the African Led Movement to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM); and a Principal Investigator of community directed approaches to promote intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy in Kenya: a quasi-experimental study.

Working closely with UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO, Matanda led the systematic review of the effectiveness of interventions designed to prevent or respond to FGM, and the development of the first global research agenda to accelerate FGM abandonment.

Matanda holds a PhD in International Health Promotion and Development from the University of Bergen, Norway.