Dr Caroline Kabiru

Caroline Kabiru leads the Population Dynamics and Reproductive Health Unit at the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), Kenya. Prior to her current position, she worked as an Associate with the Population Council, Kenya.

Caroline has over ten years’ experience designing, conducting and managing research projects in sub-Saharan Africa focusing on adolescent health, female genital mutilation (FGM), and gender. In her most recent role as the senior technical advisor on the UK Department for International Development (DFID)-funded Evidence to End FGM research program, which is led by the Population Council, she guided the design, implementation, and analysis of a variety of studies implemented in seven countries in Africa.

The studies sought to: build the evidence base of where, when, and why FGM is practiced; assess a range of FGM abandonment interventions; understand the wider impacts of FGM on the lives of girls, women, and their families; and improve the measurement of FGM and related factors. Previously, among other studies, Caroline led the Kenya arm of the Global Early Adolescent Study (GEAS), a multi-country study led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the World Health Organization that is investigating how gender norms evolve and influence health outcomes in early adolescence.

Caroline, who obtained her PhD degree in Health Promotion and Behavior from the University of Georgia (US), has contributed to nearly 100 publications on adolescent health and wellbeing, sexual and reproductive health, and FGM, among other issues. She has also served on local and international technical advisory groups to inform the strategic direction of research programs and initiatives focused on adolescent health.