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Dr Hugh Sharma Waddington

Assistant Professor

London International Development Centre
20 Bloomsbury Square
London
WC1A 2NS
United Kingdom

I am an Economist and Environmental Health specialist by training. My main research interests are in rigorous and relevant impact evaluations using randomised and non-randomised approaches (e.g. quasi-experiments) and systematic review and meta-analysis in Global Development and Health. At LSHTM I work with the Pathfinder project (climate and health co-benefits), the Environmental Health Group, and the Action Against Stunting Hub. I hold two journal positions, including Methods Editor with the Campbell Collaboration and Editor with the Journal of Development Effectiveness. I was previously elected Co-Chair of the Campbell Collaboration International Development Coordinating Group (2014-19) and was the group's founding editor (2011-19). I previously worked for the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), where I established the Synthesis and Reviews Programme Office at London International Development Centre, and was seconded to the 3ie Evaluation Office based in New Delhi (2014-16). I was also employed by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN) of the Government of Rwanda in Kigali (2006-08), the World Bank's Operations Evaluation Department (now Independent Evaluation Group) in Washington, DC (2004), the UK National Audit Office and the Poverty Research Unit at Sussex University. I have conducted assignments for the Asian Development Bank, Dasra Foundation, FCDO (formerly DfID), the Economist Intelligence Unit, the International Finance Corporation, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Save the Children, Sightsavers, USAID and the World Health Organization among others. I hold a PhD in Impact Evaluation of Infectious Diseases and Public Health from LSHTM, where I studied under Professor Sandy Cairncross and Edoardo Masset, MA Development Economics from the University of Sussex, and BSc Economics from the University of York.

Affiliations

Department of Disease Control
Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases

Teaching

I co-direct London International Development Centre's Programme Evaluation Short-Course. I co-organise IDM215 WASH Distance Learning Module. I teach on Environment, Health and Sustainable Development, Environmental Epidemiology and Introduction to Health Economics MSc modules.

Research

My research interests are centred on empirical policy research that is relevant for decision making. The methodological focus of my work includes causal methods of impact evaluation, including randomised field trials and non-randomised approaches like regression discontinuity, small-n qualitative impact evaluation, critical appraisal of these studies for internal and external validity, systematic reviews of complex interventions, statistical meta-analysis, and the use of mixed-methods in theory-based approaches. Topic areas of my research include environmental health, primarily water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), microcredit, maternal and child health and nutrition, agricultural extension, adult education, and aid effectiveness.

Research Area
Behaviour change
Child health
Education
Environmental Health
Impact evaluation
Sanitation
Statistical methods
Systematic reviews
Water
Epidemiology
Mixed methods research
Randomised controlled trials
Disease and Health Conditions
Diarrhoeal diseases
Malnutrition
Infectious diseases
Country
Bangladesh
Ghana
India
Nepal
Rwanda
Region
South Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa (developing only)

Selected Publications

The effect of improving solid waste collection on waste disposal behaviour and exposure to environmental risk factors in urban low-income communities in Pakistan.
SCHMIDT, W-P; Haider, I; Hussain, M; Safdar, M; Mustafa, F; Massey, T; Angelo, G; Williams, M; Gower, R; Hasan, Z; SHARMA WADDINGTON, H; Anjum, N; BIRAN, A;
2022
Tropical Medicine & International Health
What have we learned after ten years of systematic reviews in international development?
WADDINGTON, H; MASSET, E; Jimenez, E;
2018
Journal of Development Effectiveness
ROBINS-I: a tool for assessing risk of bias in non-randomised studies of interventions.
Sterne, JA; Hernán, MA; Reeves, BC; Savović, J; Berkman, ND; Viswanathan, M; Henry, D; Altman, DG; Ansari, MT; Boutron, I; CARPENTER, JR; Chan, A-W; Churchill, R; Deeks, JJ; Hróbjartsson, A; Kirkham, J; Jüni, P; Loke, YK; Pigott, TD; Ramsay, CR; Regidor, D; Rothstein, HR; Sandhu, L; Santaguida, PL; Schünemann, HJ; ... Higgins, JP.
2016
BMJ (Clinical research ed)
Farmer Field Schools for Improving Farming Practices and Farmer Outcomes: A Systematic Review
WADDINGTON, H; Snilstveit, B; Hombrados, J; Vojtkova, M; Phillips, D; Davies, P; White, H;
2014
Campbell systematic reviews
Effectiveness and sustainability of water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions in combating diarrhoea
WADDINGTON, H; Snilstveit, B;
2009
Journal of Development Effectiveness
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