Richard Wamai
Professor of Cultures, Societies and Global Studies
Prior to joining Northeastern Dr. Richard Wamai was a research fellow in the Takemi Program in International Health at Harvard School of Public Health. Before that, Dr. Wamai was a researcher at Oxford University (UK) Department of Social Policy. His previous work experience spans a number of other institutions including the London School of Economics, the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and Institute for Public Policy, the World Bank, the Nordic-Africa Institute in Uppsala Sweden, and the University of Nairobi in Kenya. His research areas are: HIV/AIDS, focusing on male circumcision for HIV prevention, cost-effectiveness and policy in Africa; neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in Kenya; human papillomavirus in Africa; and health systems and policy. At Northeastern, with professor Pollastri, Dr. Wamai co-leads the Integrated Initiative for Global Health to champion global health efforts at the university. In Kenya Dr. Wamai has opened The Research on Multi-Disease and Educational Services (TERMES) Center to accelerate his work on neglected diseases.
- 2013: Kenyan Diaspora Shujaa Award [Recognized as ‘hero’ “for continued and extensive global research on HIV/AIDS” on the occasion of Kenya’s national holiday “Mashujaa [Heroes] Day”.]. The New England Kenya Welfare Association (NEKWA) (October 20)
- 2013: Voted ‘Northeastern Favorite Faculty’ by the 2013 graduated Senior Class, Cauldron Yearbook at Northeastern, 2013.
- 2012- 2012: World AIDS Day Unsung Hero Award Winner, Blood:Water Mission (November 30, 2012).
- 2012: Distinguished Faculty Award, John D. O’Bryant African-American Institute (April 20)
- Shirley H, Wamai R. A Narrative Review of Kenya’s Surgical Capacity Using the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery’s Indicator Framework. Glob Health Sci Pract. 2022;10(1):e2100500.
- Global Burden of Disease 2019 Cancer Collaboration, Kocarnik JM, Compton K, et al. Cancer Incidence, Mortality, Years of Life Lost, Years Lived With Disability, and Disability-Adjusted Life Years for 29 Cancer Groups From 2010 to 2019: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. JAMA Oncol. 2022;8(3):420-444.
- Starnes JR, Wamae J*, Okoth V, Ressler DJ, Were V, Were LPO*, Moon TD, Wamai R. Population-based socio-demographic household assessment of livelihoods and health among communities in Migori County, Kenya over multiple timepoints (2021, 2024, 2027): A study protocol. PLoS One. 2021;16(8):e0256555. Published 2021 Aug 25.
- Global Burden of Disease 2020 Health Financing Collaborator Network. Tracking development assistance for health and for COVID-19: a review of development assistance, government, out-of-pocket, and other private spending on health for 204 countries and territories, 1990-2050 [published online ahead of print, 2021 Sep 22]. Lancet. 2021;S0140-6736(21)01258-7.
- Wamai RG, Hirsch JL*, Van Damme W, Alnwick D, Bailey RC, Hodgins S, Alam U, Anyona M. What could explain the lower COVID-19 burden in Africa despite considerable circulation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus? J. Environ. Res. Public Health2021, 18(16), 8638 [Preprints 2021, 2021050549 (doi: 10.20944/preprints202105.0549.v1)] [in: Topical Collection “Outbreak of a Novel Coronavirus: A Global Health Threat”]
- Halperin DT, Hearst N, Hodgins S, Bailey RC, Klausner JD, Jackson H, Wamai RG, Ladapo JA, Over M, Baral S, Escandón K, Gandhi M. Revisiting COVID-19 policies: 10 evidence-based recommendations for where to go from here. BMC Public Health. 2021;21(1):2084. Published 2021 Nov 13. doi:10.1186/s12889-021-12082-z
- Grifferty G*, Shirley H*, McGloin J*, Kahn J*, Orriols A*, Wamai R. Vulnerabilities to and the Socioeconomic and Psychosocial Impacts of the Leishmaniases: A Review. Res Rep Trop Med. 2021;12:135-151. Published 2021 Jun 23. doi:10.2147/RRTM.S278138
- Local Burden of Disease HIV Collaborators. Subnational mapping of HIV incidence and mortality among individuals aged 15-49 years in sub-Saharan Africa, 2000-18: a modelling study. Lancet HIV. 2021;8(6):e363-e375.
- GBD 2019 Viewpoint Collaborators. Five insights from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet. 2020;396(10258):1135-1159.
- Were LPO, Were E, Wamai R, Hogan J, Galarraga O. Effects of social health insurance on access and utilization of obstetric health services: results from HIV+ pregnant women in Kenya. BMC Public Health. 2020;20(1):87.
Other Publications
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Education
Post Doc, 2008
Harvard University School of Public Health
PhD, 2004
University of Helsinki
BA, 1994
Egerton University -
Contact
617.373.4130 r.wamai@northeastern.edu -
Address
220C RP
360 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115 -
Office Hours
Tuesday & Thursdays 9-10am, or any time by appointment
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Dialogues
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Associations
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Epidemiology of Pandemic Diseases & Health Disparities in the African Diaspora
AFRS 3424
Examines the epidemiology and determinants of diseases and the public health practice among continental African peoples and African-derived populations in the Americas and elsewhere in the African Diaspora.
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Introduction to Global Health
AFRS/PHTH 1270
This course introduces global health in the context of an interdependent and globalized world focusing on four main areas of analysis: infrastructure of global health; diseases; populations; and terms, concepts and theories. While our focus is on lower-income countries, the course examines issues in a broader global context underscoring the interconnections between global health disparities and global health policy response. Case studies describing interventions to improve healthcare in resource-poor settings in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere are applied to help illuminate the actors, diseases, populations and principles and frameworks for the design of effective global health interventions.
