IMPACT Team

Biography:

Dr. Hikabasa Halwiindi is the Founding Director of the Implementation Science Centre for Advancing Practice and Training (IMPACT). He is an Associate Professor of Community Health with over two decades of experience in health systems research, implementation science, and capacity building across Africa. He serves as a core faculty member of the HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Health Implementation Research Institute (HIGH IRI) hosted at Washington University in St. Louis. He is also the Co-Director of the Afri-HIGH IRI, a regional training initiative focused on building implementation science capacity for HIV and infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. He is also Dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Zambia. His research and training efforts have been instrumental in advancing evidence-based health interventions in Zambia and beyond, with a focus on community-based health strategies, neglected tropical diseases, and strengthening primary health care systems. He has led and co-led multiple multi-country and donor-funded implementation science projects, and mentors a growing number of emerging scholars in the field. Prof. Halwiindi’s commitment to implementation research and training continues to shape policy and practice for better health outcomes across the continent.

Hikabasa Halwiindi | LinkedIn

Biography:

Professor Wilbroad Mutale is a distinguished public health physician, researcher, and systems thinker committed to strengthening health, education, and leadership capacity across Zambia and the region.

He serves as a Professor of Health Systems and Implementation Science, with extensive experience in translating research into practical policy and community impact. His work focuses on improving how institutions function not just what they produce bridging the gap between evidence, leadership, and sustainable development.

Professor Mutale is widely respected for his mentorship of young professionals, his advocacy for research-driven decision-making, and his belief that national progress is built through deliberate investment in people, systems, and values. He brings a grounded, reflective leadership style shaped by years of academic rigor, public service, and real-world engagement with communities.

Biography:

Dr. Mweete Debra Nglazi plays an integral role at the Implementation Centre for Advancing Practice and Training (IMPACT) within SOPH at UNZA. She has also served as a United Nations Volunteer at UNAIDS, focusing on HIV prevention programs.

She is a recent PhD graduate from the Health Economics Unit within the School of Public Health and Family Medicine at UCT. Her PhD thesis is titled “An analysis of overweight and obesity in South Africa: the case of women of childbearing age. It focuses on the trends, socioeconomic inequality and determinants of overweight and obesity in non-pregnant women of childbearing age.

Prior to working towards her PhD, her excellent research, academic and teaching skills have earned her various positions in top academic and research institutions in South Africa—the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, UCT, the South African Medical Research Council and Stellenbosch University. In addition to formal positions and roles, Mweete has worked and contributed significantly to capacity-building efforts and activities in implementation science in several countries in the Southern African region. These activities have allowed her to interact with policy-makers and decision-makers. Her research interests include HIV/AIDS, TB, respiratory infections (non-TB), SRHR, health inequalities, non-communicable diseases, and their risk factors (i.e., overweight and obesity). She has several publications in international peer-reviewed journals. In 2019, in recognition of her rising talent, she was awarded the prestigious L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Young Talents Award for the sub-Saharan African region.

Biography:

Margarate N. Munakampe, PhD is a Lecturer and Researcher at the University of Zambia, in the School of Public Health, and serves as Policy and Planning Manager at Women in Global Health, Zambia Chapter. She is a junior faculty member for the Africa HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Health Implementation Research Institute (AFRI-HIGH IRI), a regional training initiative focused on building implementation science capacity for HIV and infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. . She has vast experience in conducting interdisciplinary research on health policy, sexual and reproductive health, maternal and child health, adolescent health, mental health, early childhood development and social protection.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margarate-n-munakampe-45733922/

Biography:

is an Implementation Scientist based at the University of Zambia School of Public Health and a Fellow at the Centre for Infectious Disease Research Zambia. Her work is centered on enhancing the implementation effectiveness of interventions seeking to improve population health within the health and social sectors Currently, she is exploring ways through which evidence generated through implementation science can be used to mitigate structural determinants of health inequities faced by marginalized populations.