At the School, Afifah is a part-time Research Fellow examining conflict of interest in the delivery and quality of private healthcare in Pakistan. She is also a Consultant at the Global Health Programme, Chatham House, leading a research project on global solidarity in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, Afifah is the Partnerships Manager for Project Zambezi, an innovative health tech start-up to deliver essential medicines when and where they are needed.

Prior to joining the School, Afifah spent a year in the private sector, consulting the biotech and life sciences industry. She has previously held positions at Chatham House as a Research Associate managing the Global Health Programme's health security portfolio; the Centre for Global Health and Education, Institut Pasteur, as a research intern; the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health in Singapore and the Asia Pacific Office of The Union Against TB and Lung Disease, as a research intern; and the National University Health Systems in Singapore, as a Junior Research Assistant and Study Coordinator. Afifah is a Fellow of Salzburg Global Seminar.

She holds a BSc in Biomedical Science from University College London and an MSc in the Control of Infectious Diseases from LSHTM.