Dr. Nwabisa Jama Shai

Dr. Nwabisa Jama Shai is a leading public health researcher and the current Unit Director of the Gender and Health Research Unit at the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC). With over 25 years of experience in qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research, her expertise lies in gender-based violence (GBV) and HIV prevention across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). She is also a Technical Advisor to the global What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls initiative and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand. Dr. Jama Shai’s academic background includes a PhD in Public Health with a specialization in femininities from the University of the Witwatersrand and a Master’s in Public Health from the University of the Western Cape. Dr. Jama Shai has led and co-authored over 50 journal articles, book chapters, policy briefs, and technical reports. She has played a central role in co-developing and adapting nine behavioral interventions and has contributed to four randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and three mixed-method evaluations. Her international research spans across South Africa, Papua New Guinea, Lesotho, Malawi, Tajikistan, and Nepal. Her work uniquely examines how constructions of femininity affect women's vulnerability to GBV, alongside evaluating the scalability and effectiveness of GBV prevention interventions. A skilled leader and facilitator, Dr. Jama Shai actively engages with various stakeholders—including academia, government agencies, UN bodies, NGOs, and development partners—to translate evidence into policy and practice. She was a pivotal member of the Interim Steering Committee responsible for drafting South Africa’s first National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide. Furthermore, she has contributed to femicide prevention strategies and served on the Violence Prevention Forum since 2015. Her leadership extends to governance and editorial roles, including serving on the board of Project Empower and the editorial board of the South African Crime Quarterly. A process-oriented facilitator by training, Dr. Jama Shai is committed to cross-sectoral collaboration, ensuring that research and practice are intertwined to drive meaningful societal change. She also maintains fluency in IsiXhosa and Sesotho, enhancing her capacity to work across diverse South African contexts. Dr. Jama Shai continues to lead impactful research that informs national and international policies, ensuring that the voices and needs of marginalized populations, especially women and girls, remain central in public health discourse. Through her work, she embodies a bridge between rigorous academic inquiry and transformative community engagement.

• Leadership
• Data Analysis
• Qualitative Research
• Scientific Writing
• Strategic Planning
• Project Management
• Capacity Building
• Monitoring & Evaluation
• Research Design
• Technical Writing
• Community Engagement
• Community Engagement
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Multilingual Communication
• Public Health Strategy
• Policy Advocacy
• Gender Analysis
• Mixed Methods
• Behavioural Intervention Development
• RCT Implementation
• Curriculum Adaptation
• Facilitation Skills
• Intersectoral Collaboration
• Evidence-Based Programming
• Knowledge Translation
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