I have developed a portfolio on anti-corruption research. Within the DFID-funded Anti-Corruption Evidence (ACE) research consortium in Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Tanzania, the research focuses on providers’ incentives to engage in rent-seeking—informal payments, absenteeism, pharmaceutical market distortion, and on identifying tailored strategies to address these practices. A new ‘Accountability in Action’ study funded by MRC HSRI explores ways to address the institutional, structural and social drivers of health sector corruption at district level in Nigeria and Malawi.

I have long-term interests in assessment of health systems responses to the growing burden of complex chronic disease requiring complex inputs in terms of treatment, follow-up and care processes (hypertension, diabetes). Currently I am a deputy PI on the RESPOND project funded by Wellcome Trust/ Newton Fund-MRC Humanities & Social Science Collaborative Award exploring barriers to hypertension control among poor populations in Malaysia and the Philippines (RESPOND) using surveys and a digital diary platform, building on previous work on diabetes. The project also involves strengthening capacity to use evidence and engage in political processes to respond to the needs of these groups.

In the past, I have led interdisciplinary multi-method projects involving comparative research on health systems and governance, such as the ‘Good Health at Low Cost 25 years on’ project funded by the Rockefeller Foundation examining ways in which good governance and accountability has promoted major advances in health and access to services in some LMICs compared to others at a similar level of wealth. Other work focuses on developing effective and equitable primary care models for underserved populations involving community volunteers (Ethiopia, PI/HSRI grant) and building resilient health systems (Sierra Leone, Co-I/HSRI).