Prof Violet Naanyu: Double honour for top Kenyan bioethicist

Prof Violet Naanyu is a social scientist and global bioethicist. Photo/Ampath

Leading Kenyan bioethicist Prof Violet Naanyu is one of the 16 experts chosen globally to advise the World Health Organisation on behavioural sciences.

Prof Naanyu, a Moi University don who is also a visiting scholar at the Aga Khan University, will serve on the WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on Behavioural Sciences for Better Health for the next two years.

The WHO said it chose the 16 from a pool of 340 experts across 71 countries.

“This group will provide scientific advice to channel behavioural science evidence into policy to achieve better health outcomes,” WHO said in a press statement.

Prof Naanyu is a social scientist and global bioethicist interested in evaluations to improve research and healthcare in resource-limited settings.

The statement said she will help shape how the WHO and its partners incorporate behavioural insights into health policy, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

Her appointment reflects her extensive experience working in East and Southern Africa, often in resource-limited settings.

“Integrating behavioural insights into policies is key to advancing health equity efficiently and effectively," said Dr Ailan Li, assistant director-general of the WHO. "Understanding human behaviour is essential to designing effective strategies. WHO has a very important leadership role in channelling behavioural sciences evidence into policy to achieve public health impact on the ground and global health outcomes.”

Elena Altieri, head of WHO’s Behavioural Insights Unit, said: “Providing evidence-based advice is central to WHO’s mission, and the Technical Advisory Group will ensure that advice is based on the latest behavioural science.”

The WHO noted that understanding and integrating behavioural evidence at the individual, community, and population level is essential to design effective policies and programmes.

The appointment follows the World Health Assembly’s 2023 adoption of a resolution calling for the mainstreaming of behavioural sciences to achieve more effective, equitable, and people-centred health policies.

Separately, in March this year, Prof Naanyu was elected a fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), one of the highest honours for a scientist on the continent.

The AAS noted that Fellows are recognised for their “excellence in their publications record, innovations, leadership roles and contribution to policy and society.”

“The AAS Fellowship recruitment, follows a rigorous evaluation by the AAS Membership Advisory Committees (MACs) in various fields of specialisation,” said AAS President Prof Lise Korsten.

The academy called on Prof Naanyu to participate in high-level working groups, policy think tanks and scientific review panels that influence continental research direction.

Prof Naanyu is also the founder of the AMPATH Qualitative Research Core, and co-founder of the Focus Projects and Research Organization in Kenya.She sits on the National Scientific and Ethics Committee of Kenya, and is a board member of the International Centre for Reproductive Health, and a committee member of the Bioethics Society of Kenya member.

Her research spans maternal and child health, HIV, chronic diseases, and health system strengthening. She has worked across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Gambia, and South Africa.

She holds academic training in sociology from Indiana University (USA), medical anthropology from the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands), and global bioethics from Universidad Anáhuac (Mexico).