Centre for European and International Studies Research (CEISR)

Profile

Samantha is in the final year of her doctoral studies. The title of her research is Sexual Cultural Practices and HIV/AIDS in Malawi: Implications for HIV and AIDS Policies and Programmes. The main argument of her thesis is that in Malawi misconceptions concerning how easily HIV is transmitted through sex have resulted in the development of policies and programmes that would not normally be applied to different public health crises. Her research presents the first academic study of its kind exploring the link between HIV and AIDS and cultural practices in Malawi.

Before enrolling on a PhD programme at Portsmouth she was working in Qatar as a Consultant to the Government to write Qatar’s first National Health Strategy. She has worked in the international development field for over 15 years. Her key expertise includes strategic planning, policy development, programme design and stakeholder engagement at senior level working with governments and donors with a focus on gender and health issues. She has held key positions in a range of organisations including UNAIDS, UNDP and UNFPA, Governments and numerous NGOs. She has worked in more than 25 countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

She teaches on the BA Sociology and gives guest lectures on the BA International Development Studies.

Qualifications

• MSc Health and Population Studies, LSE
• BA (Hons) French Studies, University of Portsmouth

Research Clusters

• Francophone Studies
• International Development Studies and Security
• Sociology and Social Theory
• Women’s and Gender Studies

Discipline Areas

• International Development
• Sociology
• Languages

Research CV

Current Research Projects

Working with Dr. Tamsin Bradley examining the link between dowry, gender based violence and sexual and reproductive health in Kerala. Samantha is also working with Drs. Liza-Howe Smith and Sarah Turnbull in Portsmouth Business School to examine women’s leadership in science in the UK and the Middle East.

Journal Articles

• Why are women still under represented in senior jobs in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) in academic universities and what are the HR implications?, HR Bulletin, University of Portsmouth (forthcoming)

Book Chapters

• Page, S., and Lee, J. (2006) Local Government and International Development – Perspectives and Selected Case Studies. In Munawwar A., and Nickson A. (Eds.) Managing Change in Local Governance (pp123-129). London: Commonwealth Secretariat

Other Publications

• Supreme Council of Health (2011) Qatar National Health Strategy, Supreme Council of Health, Qatar 
• UNAIDS (2009) Malawi: Country Harmonisation and Alignment Tool, UNAIDS: Malawi
• UNDP (2007) Measuring and Monitoring Gender Equality: Malaysia’s Gender Gap Index, UNDP: Malaysia
• UNDP (2007) Malaysia: Small and Medium Enterprises-Building an Enabling Environment, UNDP: Malaysia
• UNDP (2007) Bridging the Digital Divide (unpublished)
• Developments Magazine (2005) Local government, global development, DFID: London
• UNFPA (2004) Investing in People: National Progress in Implementing the ICPD Programme of Action 1994-2004, UNFPA: New York
• UNFPA (2002) Population Ageing and Development: Operational Challenges in Developing Countries, UNFPA: New York
• Pages, S., and Beales, S. (2001) Gender and Ageing: A position paper, HelpAge International: London.

Consultancy

• For 15 years for the UN, bilateral donors and NGOs. Her geographical areas on gender, health and international development. Her geographical areas of focus are Africa and the Middle East.