For this newsletter's spotlight interview, RGHI sat down with Ninza Mwenesongole-van Houte. Ninza is based at Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management within the section Health Economics. She is currently working on her PhD, supervised by Dr. Igna Bonfrer and Professor Marco Varkevisser, with a focus on health care financing reforms in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
What is your research focused on?
My research explores how LMICs mobilise domestic resources to finance their health systems, particularly the mechanisms used to raise revenue for universal health coverage. I aim to understand the political economy, sustainability, and effectiveness of these financing models.
What is important to you when it comes to academic work in the field of Global Health?
I have a personal connection with my research, and my research informs how I understand justice, not just in healthcare systems, but in the lives those systems are meant to protect.
For me, it's crucial that research not only generates knowledge but also informs policy. I believe academic work in global health should be grounded in equity, locally relevant, and sensitive to the historical and economic dynamics of the regions it addresses.
What are your main ambitions for the future?
I hope to contribute to building more resilient and transparent health systems across LMICs, through research, policy advising, and encourage effective cross-sector collaboration between these entities.
Do you have a paper/TED Talk/Podcast that you enjoy and would recommend us to listen to?
I highly recommend the BBC African Eye series. It's investigative journalism at its finest, shedding light on governance, health crises, and social resilience across the continent. It offers powerful narratives that remind us why context matters in global health research.
What's one lesson your research has taught you that goes beyond the technical work?
Health financing is now at the forefront of global and national agendas, with governments and institutions making bold statements and setting ambitious mandates. Yet, the gap between rhetoric and evidence-based action remains wide. This reinforces the critical role of researchers in global health, not just to produce data, but to help turn vision into reality. Health financing is as much about political will and institutional relationships as it is about numbers.
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The Rotterdam Global Health Initiative (RGHI) is the multi-disciplinary global health research and education network of Erasmus University and Erasmus MC. Through our research and education efforts, we seek to help diminish health inequalities between and within countries, improve people’s living conditions, and contribute to more effective and equitable healthcare of good quality worldwide.
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