Dr Woldekidan Kifle Amde

BA (Addis Ababa), MA (Ruhr-Bochum), MA (UWC), PhD (UWC)

Program Manager/Researcher
E: wamde@uwc.ac.za

Woldekidan Amde is a researcher, lecturer and program manager at the School of Public Health (SOPH), University of the Western Cape. His interests span health policy and systems, capacity development, doctoral training, getting research into policy and practice, and social determinants of health.

Woldekidan coordinates SOPH’s doctoral support programme and teaches the Introducing Public Health Postgraduate Diploma module. He has extensively participated in leading multi-country collaborative research and programme initiatives in the abovementioned areas. His current collaborative engagements include serving as Co-Pi on the Belgium Development Co-operation funded initiative “South African Higher Education Institutions as drivers of Change for Health and Wellbeing” and coordinating the IDRC funded “Gender-transformative research in Africa: collective learning and synthesis to improve sexual reproductive and maternal health rights and services”. He also curates content for SOPH’s online and social media platforms.

Woldekidan is currently an Executive Board member of the Association of Schools of Public Health in Africa (ASPHA) and an Associate Editor for Frontiers in Sociology of Law. Before joining SOPH in 2009, Woldekidan worked as a development professional in Ethiopia, focusing on vulnerability and risk among disadvantaged groups and access to and usage of information communication technologies

Projects

South African higher education institutions as drivers of change for health and wellbeing

This project seeks to address the twin challenges of developing capacity for training and research in pharmaceutical public health and doctoral education, and contributing to the goal of strengthening health and pharmaceutical systems capable of sustainably addressing key threats to health.

African Regional Community of Practice for Gender and Health

The African Regional Community of Practice (CoP) for Gender and Health in Africa was formed to facilitate a space in which the African community can engage in greater discussions and share ideas on matters of Gender and Health, especially after the Covid-19 global pandemic. It aims to advance African initiatives that facilitate regional understanding, collaboration, and policy-relevant knowledge production and practice on gender and health.

Gender-transformative research in Africa: collective learning and synthesis to improve sexual reproductive and maternal health rights and services

The overall aim of the project (February 2022-May 2025) is to foster a strengthened community of researchers and policymakers informed, connected and empowered to use gender-transformative frameworks and methods in their research and practice.

Strengthening capacity for research, education, policy support, advocacy and networking of the partners in the field of human and animal health

SOPH’s key focus with ITM has been on strengthening South-based knowledge generation based on ‘embedded country’ health policy and systems research (HPSR) and education.

Human Resources for Health Leadership and Management course

SOPH is one of four academic institutions in an academic consortium contracted by the WHO to develop prototype curricula for training in Human Resources for Health (HRH) leadership which will contribute to the implementation of the Global Health Workforce Strategy.

2026 SOPH PhD Induction Series Wraps Up Successfully

The PhD induction series took place from 4 February to 9 March 2026, drawing participation from 19 pre-doctoral and newly registered doctoral fellows. The series consisted of six two-hour thematic sessions facilitated by the SOPH PhD programme support team.

UWC-SOPH Hosts Productive PhD Writing Retreat

The UWC School of Public Health (SOPH) held its annual PhD writing retreat in September 2025, welcoming 21 doctoral candidates.

UWC-SOPH Contributes to the 2nd Public Health Diplomacy Summit in Memphis

UWC-SOPH’s Prof Olagoke Akintola, Dr Woldekidan Amde, and Dr Anam Nyembezi attended the 2nd Public Health Diplomacy Summit, an engaging platform for dialogue and collaboration, hosted by the University of Memphis School of Public Health from 23–25 March 2026.