Priscilla Atwani Idele PhD in Social Statistics, 2002

Senior Advisor for Statistics

I have very high regard for the University of Southampton and for according me an opportunity to study Social Statistics. Soon after submitting my PhD thesis, I got hired as a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist with the USAID-funded MEASURE Evaluation Project at Macro International

Q: Why did you choose to undertake your studies at the University of Southampton?

I decided to study at the University of Southampton because of its international reputation as the best school for Social Statistics and multilevel modelling techniques in the United Kingdom, and perhaps the world. The Department of Social Statistics at the time had some of the most reputable professors and I was very fortunate to be mentored by Professors Ian Diamond and Nyovani Madise, among others.

I found the coursework very exciting and truly enlightening. There were a range of courses to choose from and an opportunity to explore and learn new statistical techniques. I was able to learn and apply multinomial logistic regression in my research, indeed a very rewarding experience.

Q: What did you enjoy about studying your PhD in Social Statistics at Southampton?

While studying at Southampton, I very much enjoyed the multicultural diversity of the studentship, which was an opportunity to learn more than academics - other countries, dances and food preferences. Our class was so cohesive and we often organized and did things together and it was very easy to make friends even with students from other departments. And because there were many of us from overseas, it was easy to seek each other and do things together. There were also a lot of leisure activities to do – hiking, garden visits, historic estates and beaches. All made studying at Southampton an enjoyable lifetime experience.

Q: What have you been able to achieve as a result of studying your PhD at the University of Southampton? (such as career history or relevant experiences)

I have very high regard for the University of Southampton and for according me an opportunity to study Social Statistics.

Soon after submitting my PhD thesis, I got hired as a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist with the USAID-funded MEASURE Evaluation Project at Macro International, based in Silver Spring Maryland, USA. It is here where I got fully involved in international health and development work. I supported many USAID-funded programmes in sub-Saharan Africa in developing monitoring and evaluation frameworks, research, data analysis and publishing.

While with the MEASURE Evaluation Project, I was seconded to Tanzania as the Resident Country Strategic Information Advisor for the United States Government (USG) Emergency Plan for HIV/AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The duties included planning, coordinating and guiding the USG agencies and program implementing partners in their strategic information needs, including HIV/AIDS surveillance, program monitoring and evaluation, data collection, database management and data use; communicating reporting requirements of the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC) and USG agencies to implementing partners; assessing strategic information needs, training and capacity building of the Ministry of Health, Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS) and grantee partners in implementing HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support programs; and facilitating monitoring and evaluation training for relevant PEPFAR agencies, the government and their implementing partners.

Currently, I am a Senior Adviser for Statistics & Monitoring in the Statistics at UNICEF, New York. My overall responsibility is participating in strategic planning, coordinating, and providing advisory and technical support services for the implementation, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of HIV and AIDS related programmes within UNICEF and at the global, regional, and country levels, including oversight of the UNICEF HIV/AIDS-related global databases, flagship and sector specific publications. Other key functions include playing key roles and significantly contributing to reporting on health and HIV/AIDS related global goals and targets, such as UNGASS, MDGs , Universal Access, and UNICEF State of the World Children and sector specific reports on Children and AIDS . The work also involves co-chairing and playing active roles in interagency collaborative activities.

Overall, my experience so far has been very fulfilling, and I have been able to participate in forums that have led to decisions influencing the overall global agenda on the HIV/AIDS response.

While in UNICEF, I have been able to further use my statistical skills in research which culminated in an award of Excellence in Research Related to the Needs of Children Affected by AIDS at the International AIDS Conference, Vienna, Austria, 2010

View the Aids 2010 XVIII International Aids Conference video

View an article on Dr Priscilla Akwara receiving an award a the Aids 2010 XVIII International Aids Conference