Dr Lana Chikhungu
Summary
MSc in International Development : /study/courses/postgraduate-taught/msc-international-development-distance-learning
BA International Development:
/study/courses/undergraduate/ba-hons-international-development
Biography
I am an Associate Professor in Population Health and Development and the Research Excellence Framework Coordinator for Area Studies (UoA 25). My research falls within the disciplines of public health, gender, demography and international development, but my strong footing lies in population health and gender-related research focusing on maternal health and child health in the Global South. My interdisciplinary research is informed my wide educational background and work experience.
Education Qualifications:
- PhD in Social Statistics (University of Southampton)
- MSc in Demography (University of Southampton)
- MA in Economic Development and Policy analysis (University of Nottingham)
- Bachelor of Social Science, majoring in Economics (University of Malawi)
Previous Roles:
- Course Leader MSc International Development: 兔子先生.
- Teaching Fellow: University of Southampton, Department of Demography and Social Statistics)
- Employability Coordinator: University of Southampton, Department of Demography and Social Statistics.
- Teaching Assistant: University of Southampton, Department of Demography and Social Statistics.
- Principal Economist: Malawi Ministry of Finance.
- Economist: Malawi National Economic Council.
- Labour Officer: Malawi Ministry of Labour.
Research interests
My current research programme is focused on sexual violence faced by women and girls born during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, when I organised and hosted an International Online Symposium on the theme 鈥淎 Silent Pandemic at Home: Heightened Violence against Women and Children during the Covid-19 Pandemic鈥. My research on sexual violence towards women and girls has been published at several international conferences: , the and the .
Over the years I have successfully undertaken research projects leading to peer reviewed outputs in high impact journals as summarised below:
Research projects completed:
Violence Against Women and Girls (2019 to Date)
Outputs
- Violence Against Women and Girls in Zimbabwe: A Review of a Decade of the Empirical Literature ().
- The Incidence of Wife Beating in Malawi: Do Male Attitudes Matter? (),
- Culture and domestic violence amongst ever-married women in Malawi: An analysis of emotional, sexual, less-severe physical and severe physical violence. ()
- Married Women's Experience of Domestic Violence in Malawi: New Evidence from a Cluster and Multinomial Logistic Regression Analysis. (
Girls dropping out of School and Child Marriage in Malawi(2017-2018)
Output
- Tackling girls dropping out of school in Malawi: Is improving household socio-economic status the solution? ()
HIV鈥恌ree Survival by Maternal Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) regimen (2014 to 2016).
Outputs
- Postnatal HIV transmission in breastfed infants of HIV-infected women on ART: a systematic review and meta-analysis ().
- HIV-free survival at 12-24 months in breastfed infants of HIV-infected women on ART: a systematic review ().
Modelling Child Undernutrition in Malawi (2009 to 2014).
Outputs:
- Trends and patterns of stunted-only and stunted-underweight children in Malawi: A suggestion for childnutrition practitioners to focus on stunting ().
- Seasonal variation of child undernutrition in Malawi: is seasonal food availability an important factor? Findings from a national-level cross-sectional study ().
- How important are community characteristics in influencing children鈥檚 nutritional status? Evidence from Malawi population-based household and community surveys ().
Female Genital Mutilation(FGM) in Burkina Faso and Mali (2014).
Output
- Trends and protective factors of female genital mutilation in Burkina Faso: 1999 to 2010 ().
I have successfully supervised PhD students in the following topics:
- Bride Price in Zimbabwe and the UK Diaspora.
- The Attribution, Consequences, and Pervasiveness of Baby Factory in Nigeria
- Intra- and Inter-Regional Variation of Childhood Stunting Using Cross-Sectional Repeated Surveys in Low-Income and Middle-Income Eastern African Countries.
Currently I am supervising PhD Students on the following topics:
- A Critical Realists Study of Violence Against Women and Girls in Nigerian IDP Camps before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic: From Empirical Traces to Causal Mechanisms and Response Effectiveness".
- Assessing the Impact of Illegal Mining on Teenage Pregnancy and Women鈥檚 Maltreatment: A Socio-Economic and Policy Analysis in Ghana鈥檚 mining communities
And a Professional Doctorate student on the topic of:
- Perceptions and Experiences of intervention programmes among Zimbabwe domestic violence perpetrators in the UK
I am an Associate Editor for the and the .
Research outputs
2025
Chikhungu, L., Onyekwere, S. C.
14 Apr 2025, In: Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 24p.
Research output: Article
2024
Chikhungu, L., Bengasai, A.
4 Nov 2024, In: Trauma Violence and Abuse
Research output: Article
Chikhungu, L., Nkwunonwo, U., Shalev, K.
9 Sep 2024,
Research output: Abstract
Chikhungu, L.
5 Jul 2024, In: Taiwan Insight
Research output: Article
Chikhungu, L.
20 May 2024,
Research output: Abstract
2023
Chikhungu, L.
11 Sep 2023,
Research output: Abstract
Chikhungu, L.
16 Jul 2023,
Research output: Abstract
Chikhungu, L.
1 Jun 2023,
Research output: Conference contribution
2022
Chikhungu, L.
1 Jul 2022, In: Malawi Medical Journal. 34, 2, p. 111-117, 7p.
Research output: Article
2021
Chikhungu, L., Lyons-Amos, M., Kandala, N. I., Pallikadavath, S.
1 Sep 2021, In: Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 36, 17-18, p. 8693-8714
Research output: Article