An EconoTimes perspective

Lenka Benova

Professor of Maternal and Reproductive Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp

Professor of Maternal and Reproductive Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp I am a quantitative population health scientist with training in management, economics, Middle East studies and demography/epidemiology. From 2014 to 2018, I served as a co-investigator on the Maternal healthcare markets Evaluation Team (MET) at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, where I led the SAGE (Secondary data Analysis for Generating new Evidence) team. Previously, I headed operations in a start-up company in eldercare in the United States and worked as project coordinator with Médecins Sans Frontières in Nigeria, the West Bank and South Sudan. I was responsible for the design, implementation and evaluation of the health pillar of a conditional cash transfer program in Egypt between 2008 and 2010. I have a keen interest in health-seeking behaviour, maternal health research, and evaluation in low- and middle-income countries. I hold an MA in Middle East studies (American University in Cairo), MSc in Demography and Health (LSHTM), and PhD in Population Health (LSHTM). I teach on Masters course modules and supervise PhD students. My research focus is on health-seeking behaviour in general and reproductive/maternal health in particular. Within these areas, I am interested in innovative methods to capture decisions and steps in health-seeking, validity of self-reported health-seeking indicators, and coverage of care contact and content.