Zoe Nakuya

Zoe Nakuya joined the Council on January 2023 as an International Research and Policy Fellow under the Revive IPTp-SP: Revitalization of Intermittent Preventive Treatment of Malaria in Pregnancy in Kenya Project.  Her fellowship focuses on effective approaches to bridging the “know-do gap” between evidence generation and achieving program and/or policy impact both within and outside Kenya. This includes working closely with key partners and government actors on health systems strengthening and policy implementation efforts to improve the delivery and uptake of services for women and children. Nakuya is driving the Revive IPTp project’s communication, dissemination, and uptake strategy to enable full exploitation of the project’s results and learnings at the national, regional, and global levels; leading strategic engagements with key stakeholders in Kenya – at the county and national level; and providing overall support to project implementation and coordination. For this two-year fellowship, Zoe is based in Kisumu, Kenya and is being mentored by Esther Lwanga Walgwe, Associate II, International Program’s Division.  

Nakuya is a Medical Doctor and holds an MSc in Health Policy, Planning and Financing from the London School of Economics. Beyond her clinical practice and well-being programs, Nakuya previously worked as a Health Policy Advisor with the Foundations for Innovative New Diagnostics, where she coordinated the development of Uganda’s first National Health Services Laboratories Policy and Strategic Plan through the fostering and coordination of partnerships between and across stakeholders including the Ministry of Health, World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control, and other partners in the health laboratory sector. She also supported efforts to strengthen the capacity of laboratory systems in the country for improved delivery of health care.  

As an avid promoter and advocate for preventive health, self-care and well-being, Nakuya has also previously served as an Ambassador for the Uganda Non-Communicable Disease Alliance (UNCDA).  

Nakuya is a native of Uganda, and speaks fluent English, Luganda, and Swahili.