Higher Legal Expert specialising in human rights, political persecution, and refugee protection East Africa, with experience preparing expert reports, conducting nationality assessments, and providing testimony before UK and US courts and tribunals.
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
Dr. Ahmad is a Reader in Global Health Humanities with expertise in country-of-origin information, migration, and asylum-related issues. Her Country Expert work focuses on producing clear, evidence-based analysis to support legal and policy decision-making. She has published widely in high impact academic journals, media articles, and international conferences. She is committed to accuracy, impartiality, and maintaining high professional standards in all consulting engagements.
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.
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.
Dr. Walker DePuy is an anthropologist specializing in political ecology, human rights, science and technology studies (STS), environmental justice, climate change, and conservation/development studies. He earned a Ph.D. in Anthropology and Integrative Conservation from the University of Georgia and an M.S. in Environmental Justice from the University of Michigan. He is currently an affiliated researcher with the Department of Geography and Environment at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was previously a postdoctoral fellow at the Asia Research Institute of the National University of Singapore. He has conducted ethnographic fieldwork in Indonesia, Kenya, and the United States and has worked as a consultant for the World Wildlife Fund and Center for International Forestry Research.
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.
I, Dr Serena Hussain, am an Expert Witness and Associate Professor at the Centre for Peace and Security, Coventry University. I specialise in providing country expert reports for UK First tier and Upper Tribunal proceedings, as well as international jurisdictions, focusing on risk on return and the credibility of claims in light of prevailing country conditions. My expertise is deeply informed by over 15 years of fieldwork in Pakistan and the disputed territories of Jammu and Kashmir, including intensive data collection within the Afghan-Pakistan border region (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), and examining the policies of right-wing majoritarian governance in India towards minorities.
Experience as an Expert: I provide comprehensive expert reports across a broad range of human rights and asylum categories, including:
Political Asylum & Persecution: Expert testimony regarding individuals under threat from non-state actors (including the Taliban); and those at risk of arrest and detention by Pakistani state authorities (including members of the PTI) and Indian authorities (including sedition charges). Security & Militancy: Drawing on my research into movements like the Tehreek-e-Taliban, I assess the localised risks of targeted violence and recruitment in the… Read moreAkin 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.
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.
I am an international practitioner working across Africa and the Middle East, supporting complex cross-border and regional matters. My work is grounded in practical experience, cultural awareness, and careful judgment in sensitive situations.
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
Dr. Gospel Obele – Research and Development Economist with 11+ years of senior-level experience in economic strategy, market intelligence, and policy innovation.
Write over 25 articles, reports and publication, advising 50+ high-profile institutions with combined $850m in earnings, across 30+ sectors and 10+ countries.
Delivered 350+ expert media appearances (BBC, Al Jazeera, CGTN, Arise TV, Africa News) as a recognized voice on markets, economy, and social development.
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.