Hanani Tabana’s training is in Epidemiology and Health Economic Evaluation.

Her  area of research is broadly situated within intersections of big program areas including maternal and child health, mental health and well-being, HIV/AIDS, sexual and reproductive health, adolescent health and district health systems.

Hanani Tabana joined the SoPH in 2015. She is currently the MPH mini-thesis coordinator and convenes the Measuring Health & Disease II and Health Economic Evaluation modules at the MPH level. Since January 2026, she is the deputy director of the UWC/MRC Health Services to Systems Research Unit.

Hanani’s current and recent research activities include; understanding the intersections between mental well-being, teenage pregnancy and HIV infection, studying the occupational determinants of mental health well-being among community health workers linked to primary health care service delivery in South Africa, health financing in the context of the NHI in South Africa and understanding and addressing barriers to childhood immunisation coverage in South Africa and beyond.

Hanani is the SoPH representative in the Academic Network for Sexual and Reproductive Health (ANSER).

Hanani’s core thematic interest and research focus is on Mental health, teenage pregnancy, adolescent health, HIV/AIDS, childhood immunisation, district health systems, health financing, sexual and reproductive health and maternal and child health.

Hanani is an NRF C2 rated scientist