Halima Twabi is a biostatistician from Malawi who employs advanced statistical methodologies and data-driven approaches to understand health issues. Through these approaches, her work identifies factors contributing to health disparities among vulnerable populations such as women and children and assesses intervention effectiveness, especially those affected by HIV infection, in socio-economically disadvantaged communities. Her previous work has examined the effects of maternal HIV on adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as low birth weight and perinatal mortality. Her research has also utilized innovative statistical methods to investigate the influence of unhealthy food consumption on childhood overweight, a growing challenge in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2023, she was named a Young Affiliate of The World Academy of Sciences and received the 2020 L’Oréal-UNESCO Young Talent Award for Sub-Saharan Africa. She is a fellow of the DELTAS Sub-Saharan Africa Consortium on the Advancement of Biostatistics (SSACAB) program and a founding member of the Girls in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (Gi-STEAM) network. She currently serves as the Treasurer for both the International Biometric Society’s Sub-Saharan Africa Network (IBS-SUSAN) and its Malawi region. She is currently collaborating on a project ‘Strengthening Women’s Research Network and Capacity to Address Women’s Health in Sub-Saharan Africa’ project, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Grand Challenges as a country lead for Malawi.

Lilian Esnath Chimbayo is a government Environmental Health Officer serving one of Malawi’s most climate-exposed districts, a rural, flood-prone area where most residents depend on fishing and farming, and where health infrastructure is chronically stretched. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health from The Polytechnic, Malawi. She has steadily grown within the district health system, taking on senior responsibilities, including serving as District Head during a leadership transition.

As Environmental Health Officer at Nkhotakota District Health Office, Lilian coordinates the District Rapid Response Team, managing epidemic response across cholera, measles, and Mpox, including overseeing the establishment of treatment units and isolation sites. She serves as District Active Search Officer for Acute Flaccid Paralysis, strengthening surveillance systems to meet polio eradication targets. She has developed the district’s emergency preparedness and response plans and contributed to national guidelines for Direct Facility Financing.

Matamando Mwendera is a researcher whose commitment to the climate-health nexus began with her undergraduate work on coping mechanisms among flood-affected communities along Lake Chirwa in Zomba. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Health from the University of Malawi, Chancellor College. She works at Partners In Health in Neno, one of Malawi’s most geographically remote districts.

At Partners In Health, Matamando leads and supports research across climate-health, disaster preparedness, and health systems strengthening in Neno and Chikwawa districts and at the national level. She supervises multidisciplinary data collection teams, leads household assessments, and analyses data to track the impact of support programmes on vulnerable communities. She also coordinates research beyond the climate space, including as Research Lead on the ASPIRE Project on adolescents living with HIV and as Malawi Site Lead on the Mercury Project addressing health misinformation, and has led IRB submissions and proposal development across 10+ operational and implementation research studies.

Milemo Lusambya leads Let’s Be Transformed (MAGUFINA), established in 2017 serving Dzaleka Refugee Camp’s 56,000 residents. MAGUFINA implemented agriculture programs training 120 women, increasing food security by 30% and establishing four gardens producing 2,400kg vegetables annually. We achieved 85% program completion rates compared to 45% camp average through participatory design. MAGUFINA partners with UNHCR Malawi for policy support, Ministry of Natural Resources for compliance, and Malawi University of Science and Technology for technical validation.