Professor Don de Savigny

Professor de Savigny, an epidemiologist and public health specialist, is currently Head of the Health Systems Research Unit in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, University of Basel. He is also an Honorary Professor and former Heath Clark Lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

He has extensive experience conducting and facilitating health research in developing countries, and has lived and worked for many years in Africa, most recently as lead research facilitator for the Tanzania Essential Health Interventions Program (TEHIP) for the Ministry of Health in Tanzania. Between 1988 and 1996 he was Principal Health Specialist for the International Development Research Centre, Canada. Prior to that, he was the Head of the Swiss Tropical Institute Field Laboratory in Tanzania (now the Ifakara Health Institute).

Prof de Savigny currently sits on a number of advisory panels, including as Chair of the Health Metrics Network Technical Advisory Group, Chair of the WHO Roll Back Malaria Working Group on Scalable Malaria Vector Control, Chair of the WHO/WB/UNDP TDR Scientific Advisory Committee for Evidence for Anti-malarial Policy and Access, and member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the INDEPTH Network of Demographic and Health Observatories, the WHO African Malaria Expert Committee, the Board of Directors for HealthBridge Canada, and the Council for Health Research for Development.

Prof de Savigny’s current research focuses on interventions to strengthen health systems in developing countries, and on the health system effects of Global Health Initiatives for scaling up access.