Asha George joined the SOPH in 2016 as the South African Research Chair (SARChI) in Health Systems, Complexity and Social Change.
She continues at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health as an Adjunct Professor. She is a qualitative researcher engaged with health systems to advance health and social justice in low- and middle-income countries. With a gender and rights lens, she focuses on the frontline interface and governance of services, taking into consideration community and health worker perspectives.
She started her career in Mexico working with government ministries and the UN system to advance the Beijing and Cairo agendas for women’s health and rights. She then returned to India, where she partnered with allies across community, district, state and national health systems to advance maternal health from a gender and rights perspective. During this formative time, she served on the editorial board of Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters.
During the COVID-19 pandemic she co-convened over a1000 participants primarily from low and middle income countries in a virtual process to define sex and gender priorities for pandemic responses. https://www.bmj.com/gender-and-pandemic-response. She is now leading Imarisha, a research consortium focussed on strengthening primary health care by addressing gendered workplace violence with partners in Burkina Faso, Tanzania, South Africa and Malaysia. With students, she is exploring how to queer health systems across African health systems.
Her contributions to global health leadership includes serving as Chair of Health Systems Global from 2018 to 2020, Chair from 2022-2024 of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Group for the Human Reproduction Program/ Department of Reproductive Health Research at WHO, and leadership of the Gender and Equity sub-group of the Global Financing Facility’s Results Advisory Group from 2021-2025. She also served as a Commissioner for the Lancet Commission on Re-Aligning Child Health for the SDG Era. She currently advises the Women’s Health Exemplars team at the Gates Foundation.
Prof George is rated as a B3 scientist by the National Research Foundation. Since 2002, she has co-edited 3 edited volumes and 6 journal supplements, as well as co-authored over 165 journal publications and multiple technical reports and guidance documents.
Projects
In the news
Intersectionality and sexual, reproductive and maternal health in Africa: Discussions from the gender transformation for Africa collaborative
As a collaboration of six implementation research grants on gender transformative approaches to sexual, reproductive and maternal health across Africa, we convened a conversation to discuss how intersectionality applied to our work.
GT4Africa Cohort Writing Workshop Report
The Gender Transformation for Africa (GT4Africa) Cohort Writing Workshop was held from 9-13 September 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa with 21 participants across the 6 projects and 13 organisations.
Call for Applications – Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025: Food Environments (Two Positions)
The Food Environment Research group (a collective from Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, School of Public Health and the DSI/NRF Center of Excellence in Food Security) at the University of the Western Cape under the leadership of Prof Rina Swart is seeking two Post-doctoral Research Fellows to work on projects related to the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) and Indigenous and Neglected Crops (INC).
Call for Applications – DSI/NRF SARChI Chair in Health Systems, Complexity and Social Change – Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025 (1 post)
The School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape (SOPH) is seeking to appoint one Postdoctoral Fellow attached to the SARCHI Chair in Health Systems, Complexity and Social Change (Prof Asha George) and her collaborators, beginning as soon as possible in 2025. Please read the eligibility requirements carefully before applying.
FEMINIST FIESTA workshop: Validating African perspectives on gender transformative approaches in health
The three-day validation workshop held in Cape Town from May 8-10, 2024, brought together 20 feminist – researchers, academics, implementers, and activists from 12 countries and 16 institutions in Africa.
A shared agenda for gender and COVID-19 research: priorities based on broadening engagement in science
By: Asha S. George, Claudia A Lopes, Lavanya Vijayasingham, Mamothena C. Mothupi, Ronald Musizvingoza, Gita Mishram, Jacqui Stevenson, Michelle Remme
Between Rhetoric and Reality: Learnings From Youth Participation in the Adolescent and Youth Health Policy in South Africa
Staff inolved: Tanya Jacobs and Asha George
A scoping review of the determinants of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder in South Africa: an intersectional perspective
Staff inolved: Michelle De Jong, Asha George, Tanya Jacobs
Current Thinking and Practice in Health Promotion: Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic
A webinar Series hosted by Dr Anam Nyembezi from the 21st October till the 28th October
Are rhetorical commitments to adolescents reflected in planning documents? An exploratory content analysis of adolescent sexual and reproductive health in Global Financing Facility country plans
Staff inolved: Asha S. George, Tanya Jacobs, Mary V. Kinney, Annie Haakenstad, Neha S. Singh, Kumanan Rasanathan & Mickey Chopra
Podcast: Advancing health systems for all in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) era
This podcast is with Journal Development and Communications Officer, Natasha Salaria and Professor Asha George – University of the Western Cape and Chair of Board at Health Systems Global.
Digital tech can boost health, by Asha George et al.
Digital technology is revolutionising our daily lives. Mobile devices monitor our movements, marketing algorithms guide our consumption and social media shape our worldviews and politics.