Experts on countries of origin by country

Expertise on religion and politics in a number of African, Asian and Latin American countries - and in a number of languages. Current research includes China (Tibet), Chile, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Argentina, DRC, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, South Africa, Malawi and Zimbabwe; Libya and Syria

Omer is a Somali speaking solicitor (presently non-practicing), with expertise on all aspects of irregular migration from Africa and Yemen. He is based in the region with offices in the UK, and with extensive experience of delivering clear concise and cogent subject matter expertise to UK courts.

Ibrahim Bangura has worked extensively in the fields of Transitional Justice, Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration of Ex-Combatants, Security Sector Reform, Sustainable Livelihoods, Gender and Conflict Resolution in Africa.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History and a Master’s degree in Gender Studies from University of Sierra Leone; another Master’s degree in International Development Studies from the University of Amsterdam; and a Doctorate degree in Economics from the Leipzig Graduate School of Management in Germany.

He currently lectures at the Peace and Conflict Studies Programme, Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, and he is also a senior partner at Transition International, a consultancy firm based in the Netherlands.

Dr Hazel Margaret Cameron – Expert Witness and Country Specialist Independent expert on barriers to reintegration and risks on return in a range of African countries, with evidence judicially commended and relied upon in the UK, US, EU, and Hong Kong. Dr Cameron is a critical criminologist and internationally recognised expert witness specialising in barriers to reintegration faced by failed asylum seekers and deportees. 

Her expertise covers: 

Dr Cameron has been instructed in more than three hundred cases of asylum, deportation, and human rights cases, including claims under Articles 3 and 8 ECHR. Her reports have been relied upon in courts and tribunals in the UK, US, EU, and Hong Kong. Judicial decisions consistently commend her evidence as “cogent, impartial, and highly persuasive,” describing it as “compelling, impartially applied, with a… Read more

Simone Elyse Carter is a public health and humanitarian expert with over 15 years of experience in outbreak analytics, research coordination, and strategic leadership. She currently serves as the Lead for Integrated Outbreak Analytics (IOA) at UNICEF, providing technical guidance and capacity strengthening for emergency response efforts worldwide.

Throughout her career, Simone has played a key role in developing data-driven solutions for complex health crises, leading interdisciplinary teams, and fostering global partnerships. Her work has included chairing the IOA working group under the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) and overseeing systematic research dissemination to improve outbreak response strategies.

Previously, Simone managed the Integrated Analytics Cell (CAI) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where she contributed to the development of evidence-based response mechanisms during public health emergencies. Her expertise spans epidemiology, humanitarian coordination, and policy development, making her a vital resource in advancing data-informed decision-making in crisis contexts.

The Expert is a Sub-Saharan Africa specialist with extensive experience in Country Operations Management, Resource Mobilization, Business Development, Communications and Advocacy across multiple countries with leading international NGOs.

The Expert is an academic researcher with expertise in studying Nigeria and also Chad, Cameroon and Niger – they primarily focus in their research on politics and religion in Nigeria. The Expert has more than a decade’s worth of experience in conducting research in West-Central Africa.

I am a social and medical anthropologist who has worked in the field of global health for over 25 years.  I lived in Eastern and Southern Africa for 22 years, where I worked with government and other institutions including NGOs, the National Institute for Health Research (Tanzania), the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Research Programme (Malawi).  I have extensive experience of social and health related research and fieldwork in rural and urban communities.  I have conducted fieldwork in medical anthropology on social and health risks including on treatment seeking, disease interpretation, traditional religio-cultural beliefs, social networks, social status (reputation), social position, stigma and discrimination.   

I am a National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Global Research Professor based within the Department of Global Health and Development at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).  I have a portfolio of research across geographies and diseases with a primary focus on sub-Saharan Africa and am strongly committed to supporting capacity strengthening in sub-Saharan Africa.  I hold a number of external positions including on funding panels and the World Health Organisation (WHO) HIV… Read more

Kendra Dupuy is a social science researcher and Assistant Professor of African politics. She has expertise with quantitative & qualitative research on energy, climate change, environment, natural resource management, democracy, human rights, civil society, education, and forced migration. She is a certified project manager, technical writer, and program & project evaluator. She has has deep expertise in the African region and specifically on countries in West Africa, East Africa, southern Africa, and the DR Congo.

Akin Iwilade is currently Senior Lecturer (Associate professor) in African Studies at the University of Edinburgh. He holds a doctorate in International Development from the University of Oxford. His research has addressed various areas of politics and society in Africa, including cultural anthropologies of violence, regional security in West Africa, and the exploration of human rights, social services and everyday life in Africa more generally. His work is both empirically and conceptually grounded, with regular fieldwork conducted in countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia and Liberia. He is widely published and also serves as editor of leading journals in the field of African Studies, including Critical African Studies and Canadian Journal of African Studies.

Lecturer in African Studies at the University of Edinburgh with extensive experience researching and writing about violent social groups and discrimination in selected African countries.  

Shehryar Khawar is a trusted governance and PFM expert with extensive experience delivering impactful public sector reform, anti-corruption strategies, and rule of law programs in fragile and transitional contexts. His technical skills, regional knowledge, and proven leadership with major donors and governments make him an excellent asset for any project focused on good governance, institutional resilience, and sustainable reform.

Dr. Muzong W. Kodi has more than 40 years of research, writing and lecturing on Africa as well as working and residing in several African countries. He has written more than 200 country expert reports for asylum seekers and other migrants from several African countries. He has also provided more than 100 authentication reports for official documents and several reports on nationality and adoption cases. As a consultant, he has been contracted by international organisations, regional African organisations, and multinational companies. He previously held senior management positions in Transparency International, Amnesty, International, and the African Centre for Monetary Studies. I also taught at the University of Nairobi in Kenya and the University of Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He holds a PhD in African History from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, USA, and speaks fluent French, English, Lingala, and Kikongo, as well as intermediary Swahili.

Occupation: International Consultant in governance, anti-corruption, human rights, as well as political and investment risks in Africa.

Countries of expertise: the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo (ROC or Congo-Brazzaville), Angola, Ghana, Tanzania, Nigeria, Rwanda… Read more

I have studied, worked and lived in Kenya and Tanzania since 2008, with research consulting firms, think tanks and non-profits. This experience in policy research spaces lends itself to my teaching on health policy at LSHTM. I also worked as a research consultant for UZIKWASA, a civil society organisation in Pangani, Tanzania engaging communities in developing grassroots leadership capacity for GVP prevention. With a background in political theory, my main research focus at LSHTM is on community engagement in gender violence prevention and emergent disease outbreaks. I work closely with PAVE, a collaborative group studying the Politics and Anthropology of Violence & Epidemics.

Shadrack Wanjala Nasong’o, Ph.D. is Professor of International Studies and former department chair at Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee, where he has taught since 2005. He teaches courses in comparative politics, international relations, and African politics. He has previously taught at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, University of Nairobi, and Kenyatta University, both in Kenya. Additionally, Prof. Nasong’o has held prestigious summer fellowships at Riara University, Egerton University, and St. Paul’s University, all in Kenya. A political comparativist, Prof. Nasong’o’s research interest lies in the areas of democratization, identity politics, social conflict, governance, and development. He is author, editor, and co-editor of thirteen books, and dozens of peer reviewed book chapters and articles in refereed journals. His latest publication is a monograph titled Kenya and the Politics of a Postcolony (London: Anthem Press, 2024). For his prolific scholarly work, Prof. Nasong’o has been honored with the Rhodes College’s Clarence Day Award for Outstanding Research and Creative Activity, and the Ali Mazrui Award for Research and Scholarly Excellence from the University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Josephine Ndagire is an accomplished academic and human rights activist with over 18 years of dedicated service at grassroots, national, and international levels. She has served as an Expert Member on the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights Committee on the Prevention of Torture in Africa and currently chairs the Board of Directors at the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (Uganda). She also serves on the Councils of Penal Reform International (United Kingdom) and the International Society for Human Rights (Germany). Renowned for her incisive legal insight and leadership, Dr. Ndagire has featured on BBC Newsday to discuss pressing global justice issues, including migrant deportations and the ICJ reparations case DRC vs. Uganda. Her work has significantly influenced human rights advocacy, legal reform, and justice systems across Africa.

Dr. Ndagire has provided expert consultation to leading international organizations, including UN Women, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, IGAD, and the International Development Law Organization. She lectures at the School of Law, Makerere University, and has previously held senior roles at the International Nuremberg Principles Academy, the Foundation for Human Rights… Read more

Academic and international development consultant with expertise around the cross-cutting themes of violence, extremism, anti-corruption, human rights, elections natural resources, poverty, community development, and risks.

Kefa M. Otiso is a Professor of Geography at Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, USA. His research interests are in urbanization, globalization, international migration, development, environment, governance, and cultural change in the context of Africa and North America. He teaches a variety of courses in urban, economic, population, and cultural geography, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applications. He was the founding president of the US-based Kenya Scholars and Studies Association (KESSA) and is a former Commissioner on Ohio’s New African Immigrants Commission. He is a past editor of the African Geographical Review and has presented papers at many national and international conferences including those organized by the Kenya Scholars and Studies Association, American Association of Geographers, African Studies Association, and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning. He is a frequent media commentator on US, Kenyan, and other international news outlets. He is also the author of Culture and Customs of Tanzania (Greenwood Press, 2013) and Culture and Customs of Uganda (Greenwood Press, 2006), co-author of Population Geography: Problems, Concepts, and Prospects (Kendall Hunt Publishing, 2013), co-editor of African Immigrants and the… Read more

Jessica Ott is an anthropologist and policy fellow whose research and publications have focused on gender, civil society, human rights, health equity, domestic work, and Islam. She has extensive research experience in Zanzibar and has also studied and worked for several years in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Dr. Ott most recently completed a Science & Technology Policy Fellowship with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, during which she worked as a Human Rights Policy/Research Fellow in the State Department’s human rights bureau and as a Center for Global Health Studies Research Fellow at the NIH. Prior to that, she worked as an international health systems research scientist, specializing in gender and qualitative methods, at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The Expert is a Gender & Social Inclusion International Development specialist across multiple global south countries - She holds a Ph.D. in Gender & Postcolonial Studies, University of Sydney, Australia, 2005.

The Expert is an experienced senior consultant and academic with 15+ years in educational program design and management across humanitarian and development sectors, including democracy, education, civil society, and government collaboration in diverse global regions. Her expertise in creating effective development programs with a focus on inclusion and sustainable livelihoods.