Gideon Kapalasa

Gideon Kapalasa holds a Master of Science in Global Health Implementation and a Bachelor of Science in Health Management from the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (formerly the University of Malawi College of Medicine) as well as an associate degree in Nursing and Midwifery. He was attracted to the pursuit of peace and development in two ways – first when working in rural communities in Malawi as a nurse in a remote and resource-constrained setting, and second when he was given the role of coordinating the refugee health program in Malawi. These two settings gave him more insight into the nexus of community health, peace, and development.

Gideon specializes in primary health care, humanitarian health, and global health with over eight years of experience in utilizing and applying an understanding of such tenets as they relate to peace and development. He is experienced in long and short-term assignments for local and international organizations and in supporting Malawi’s government in the implementation of priority health programs in refugee camps and transit shelters for asylum seekers. In the past six years, Gideon has been the focal point for the Ministry of Health in Malawi in the design and implementation of health programs for refugees and asylum seekers. He led the public health response during the COVID-19 pandemic and the cholera outbreak response for marginalized and vulnerable populations in Malawi.

Gideon hopes that after completing his MPH at UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health, he will be able to acquire more skills and expertise in global public health that will aid him in contributing more significantly to the field of humanitarian health. He hopes the design of the program, which includes field experience, will bring the much-needed global perspective of public health which complements expert response to public health efforts across the globe.