Prof. Nega Assefa
Professor of Reproductive Health Maternal and Child Health,
Haramaya University Co-PI at HHR
Professor of Vaccine Epidemiology, FRCP FMedSci
HHR PI, LSHTM
Professor Anthony Scott is a British clinician and epidemiologist with an interest in bacterial infectious diseases and vaccination. He trained in clinical medicine at Oxford University and in epidemiology at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and did post-graduate clinical training in Infectious Diseases. Since 1993 he has worked at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kilifi, Kenya. Since 2013 he has been Professor of Vaccine Epidemiology at LSHTM and co-founded HHR with Professor Nega Assefa and Anna Seale in 2016 as a programme to host the CHAMPS project and encourage research capacity development in Harar. He has worked on clinical vaccine development and impact studies of vaccines against pneumococcus, Haemophilus influenzae, non-typhoidal salmonella, COVID-19 and other pathogens. Professor Scott also has an interest in the aetiology of serious childhood illnesses (e.g. pneumonia) and childhood death. He works on vaccine policy in the policy committees of the UK (JCVI) and WHO (SAGE).
Prof. Nega Assefa Kassa 
Professor of Maternal and Child Health
Lead, HHR
Prof. Nega Assefa (PhD) is Professor of Maternal and Child Health at College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, where he has served since 1993.
He previously held senior leadership positions as Chief Executive Director of the College of Health and Medical Sciences and as Director for Research Groups and Partnerships Directorate at Haramaya University. He established and led Hararghe Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) under Haramaya University for more than 12 years.
Since 2017, Prof. Nega has led the inception and ongoing work of Hararghe Health Research (HHR), partnership between Haramaya University and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). He currently holds appointments as Honorary Associate Professor at LSHTM, Consultant Associate Professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and is a member of the Federal Ministry of Health’s Maternal and Child Health Advisory Group.
His research focuses on pregnancy and childbirth, family planning, child growth and development, and child survival. He has published 226 peer-reviewed articles and secured 11 research grants.
Prof. Nega has supervised 19 PhD students and more than 215 master’s students, including candidates from University of Durban (South Africa), Ghana, LSHTM, and Haramaya University. This supervisory work has been carried out in partnership with fellows from institutions including Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, LSHTM, Emory University’s Global Health Institute, Karolinska Institute, and University of Vienna.
In 2024, he received Lifetime Distinguished Professional Service Award from Ethiopia’s Federal Ministry of Health in recognition of his significant achievements and longstanding commitment to public health.
