Operational Team
Dr. Ombeva Malande is a Vaccinologist & a Paediatric infectious diseases specialist. A graduate of the University of Cape Town, Makerere and Moi universities, he holds a PhD in vaccinology, a masters in paediatric infectious diseases, a masters in medicine (Child health and Paediatrics) and bachelors of medicine and bachelors of surgery degree. He is a certified fellow of the College of Paediatricians of South Africa. He is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at Makerere University, and a research associate at the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, South Africa. He is a member of the WHO African Regional Immunization Technical Advisory Group (RITAG). He has consulted for WHO, UNICEF, MSD, Pfizer, GSK, Medscape, Sanofi Pasteur, Facebook, Merc, GIZ, Old Mutual, Minet, AON, Jubilee, Liberty Blue, Equity Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Bank of Africa, USAID, Britam among others. He has participated as a technical advisor and consultant on several National and International Taskforces and technical working groups and developed guidelines and SOPs on treatment, prevention, and vaccination for Ebola, HIV, Malaria, Measles, Rubella, Rota Virus Diarrhoea, influenza, Pneumonia, TB, and COVID-19.
His other research work focuses on antimicrobial resistance, especially extended spectrum beta-lactamase Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL), Carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CREs), Vancomycin resistant Enterococci (VRE) and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in the paediatric African setting. He is the Director of East Africa Centre for Vaccines and Immunization (ECAVI) and a convener of the widely acclaimed ECAVI vaccinology course for health professionals, and ECAVI Resource Mobilization Courses. He is a member of the National Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) Causality Assessment and Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety, and a technical advisor for the service delivery committee of the National Expanded Programme on Immunization. He has authored two books, supervised over 15 master’s degree students to completion, has over 35 peer-reviewed scientific papers, over 100 presentations in local and international scientific meetings, and is an editorial board member and reviewer for various scientific peer review journals. He is a respected poet, who for over 20 years has written award-winning poems for drama and music festivals for primary and high school children in Kenya. He is a weekly Columnist and Advocate on Child Health with the Standard Media Group newspaper.
Leonidah Omayo is a Public Health Specialist in her final year as a master’s student in International Health at Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), Switzerland. Her prior academic study includes a postgraduate diploma in Healthcare and Management in Tropical Countries from Swiss TPH and a Bachelor degree in medicine from Kharkov National Medical University, Ukraine.
She is currently the unit head for Research, Grants Management and Coordination of student affairs at the East African Centre for Vaccines and Immunization (ECAVI). In this function, she is responsible for managing research projects, managing and following through all of the grant’s application and reports, as well as coordinating postgraduate and Ph.D. student matters. Besides, she sits on a committee involved in the Strategic Planning and Coordination of ECAVI vaccinology course for health professionals and the Resource Mobilization course offered by the ECAVI vaccines academy. She also continues to participate in various community voluntary work whenever possible. She has previously worked as a medical doctor and a part-time assistant lecturer of Paediatrics & Child Health, Egerton University in Kenya.