Ms. Vivian Mwalenga

VIVIAN MMBONE MWALENGA

Vivian Mmbone Mwalenga is a Kenyan Senior Public Health Specialist, academic leader, health systems expert and regulatory governance professional with over 20 years of progressive experience in public health practice, environmental health, higher education, health systems management, disease surveillance, emergency preparedness and response, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), research, curriculum development, professional regulation and public sector governance.

She is an accomplished public health professional whose career has evolved across **clinical and community public health practice, government, international development organizations, academia and national professional regulation**. Her professional journey reflects a strong commitment to strengthening health systems, developing competent public health professionals, promoting evidence-based practice and contributing to policies and programmes that improve population health.

Vivian holds a Master of Science in Public Health from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health from Moi University. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Public Health at Mount Kenya University, reflecting her continued commitment to advanced scholarship, research and professional development. Her academic preparation is complemented by professional training in policy development and implementation for antimicrobial resistance, senior management, climate change, field epidemiology and laboratory training, bioethics, public health auditing and emergency response.

Academic Leadership and Higher Education

A significant part of Vivian's career has been dedicated to higher education and the development of public health professionals. She served as Head of the Department of Environmental Health in the School of Public Health at Mount Kenya University from October 2018 to March 2026. In this position, she provided academic, administrative and strategic leadership for the department and contributed to curriculum implementation, academic quality assurance, programme development, accreditation, staff and student supervision, research, innovation and professional partnerships.

One of her most significant academic achievements was leading the successful accreditation of the Bachelor of Public Health programme at Mount Kenya University in 2019, making the institution the first private university in Kenya to receive accreditation for the programme. She also oversaw the successful graduation of the first cohort of Bachelor's and Master's of Health Systems Management students and spearheaded curriculum review and quality improvement initiatives.

Her academic leadership experience has given her extensive exposure to programme planning, curriculum development and review, academic quality assurance, student mentorship, staff supervision, institutional planning and collaboration with professional and regulatory bodies. She is particularly passionate about preparing public health professionals who can translate scientific knowledge into practical interventions that address the health challenges facing communities.

National Public Health Leadership and Regulatory Governance

Vivian has also made a significant contribution to public health governance and professional regulation in Kenya. From August 2022 to August 2025, she served as Chairperson of the Public Health Officers and Technicians Council (PHOTC), Kenya.

As Chairperson, she provided strategic leadership and oversight for the regulation of public health training, registration, licensing and professional practice. Her responsibilities included guiding national regulatory frameworks, strengthening professional standards and governance systems, advising on policy and institutional reforms, and coordinating engagement among government agencies, academia and professional organizations.

During her tenure, she successfully led national public health professional governance initiatives and coordinated the implementation of the 1st International Public Health Conference for Public Health Officers and Technicians in Kenya. Her leadership strengthened institutional visibility and stakeholder collaboration within the public health profession.

This experience positioned her at the intersection of public health practice, academia, professional regulation and government policy, providing her with a broad understanding of the systems required to develop and sustain a competent public health workforce.

Public Health Practice and Government Service

Prior to her academic and regulatory leadership roles, Vivian developed extensive practical experience within Kenya's public health system. She served as a Senior Public Health Officer with the Ministry of Health in Kiambu County from 2010 to April 2017, where she led and coordinated public health programmes at the sub-county level.

Her responsibilities included disease surveillance and outbreak response, One Health coordination, malaria control, monitoring and evaluation, community-led total sanitation, health information systems management, and supervision and mentorship of staff and students.

Among her achievements were contributing to an improvement in malaria reporting rates, strengthening public health data collection, analysis and reporting systems, and introducing monitoring and evaluation approaches that supported evidence-based planning, accountability and improved service delivery.

Her experience in government gave her first-hand knowledge of the realities of public health implementation at community and health-system levels. It also strengthened her appreciation of the importance of surveillance, data, intersectoral collaboration, community participation and effective management in achieving public health outcomes.

International Public Health Experience

Vivian has undertaken significant assignments with international organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, giving her valuable exposure to international public health programming and emergency response.

As a WHO Consultant on the Polio Eradication Programme, she supported polio eradication activities in Nairobi County through surveillance coordination, stakeholder engagement and technical public health support.

She also served as an International Consultant with the WHO/CDC Africa AVoHC-SURGE Rapid Response Team Programme, participating in Training of Trainers activities for Rapid Response Teams in Kenya and Malawi. This work contributed to strengthening emergency preparedness and response capacity among public health professionals.

Earlier in her career, Vivian served as a Project Officer for Emergency Water, Sanitation and Hygiene with UNICEF Kenya, where she coordinated emergency WASH interventions in internally displaced persons' centres in Nairobi, Central and North Eastern Kenya. She supported hygiene and sanitation interventions, mobilized public health and water personnel, liaised with government and development partners, monitored emergency response interventions and contributed to the provision of sanitation infrastructure.

She also worked as a WASH Consultant with the Mott MacDonald/UNICEF programme, conducting baseline surveys across more than 40 districts in Kenya, including water sampling and water quality testing.

These assignments have given her extensive experience in emergency response, WASH, disease prevention, health promotion, stakeholder coordination and humanitarian public health programming.

Hospital and Environmental Health Experience

Vivian began her professional career in public health practice and served as a Public Health Officer at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, where she later served as Acting Head of the Public Health Department for two years.

In that role, she provided departmental leadership, supervised staff, coordinated departmental activities, participated in strategic planning and supported performance management and service delivery. She contributed to the development of a departmental strategic plan aimed at strengthening service delivery and professional development.

Her broad environmental and public health background has remained central to her professional identity and academic interests.

Research and Scholarship

Vivian has developed research interests spanning Environmental health, Public health systems, Health workforce development, WASH, HIV/AIDS, and nutritional health.

Her academic research experience includes undergraduate and postgraduate research, as well as participation in applied public health studies. Her work has included research on HIV/AIDS and nutritional health and studies related to household water treatment during emergencies.

She has presented papers at international academic conferences, including a presentation in Linköping, Sweden, focusing on health professional education and the interaction between healthcare and education. She also presented a paper at the 8th Annual Conference on Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development in Africa in Bonn, Germany, examining university-government internship collaboration models.

Her research and professional interests increasingly focus on strengthening the connection between public health education, health systems, professional development and real-world public health practice.

Policy, Professional and Community Contributions

Beyond her formal employment, Vivian has contributed to several national public health initiatives and technical working groups. She has served on the National Urban Sanitation Working Group and the Taskforce on National Urban Sanitation Guidelines under the Ministry of Health. She has also served on a Kenya Bureau of Standards Technical Working Group on the standardization of medical and hygiene textile products.

These roles demonstrate her commitment to translating professional expertise into national policy, standards and systems that strengthen public health practice.

She has also participated in professional conferences, academic forums, curriculum initiatives and institutional leadership activities. Her experience spans government, academia, professional regulatory bodies, international organizations and community-oriented programmes.

Professional Development and Lifelong Learning

Vivian is committed to continuous professional development. Her additional training includes a Postgraduate Diploma in Policy Development and Implementation of Interventions to Control Antimicrobial Resistance from the University of Copenhagen; Senior Management training through the Kenya School of Government; Climate Change studies through the Oxford Climate Society; Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training; Foundations of Bioethics training through KEMRI; Training of Auditors at Mount Kenya University; and Rapid Response Team training through the World Health Organization.

This multidisciplinary professional development has strengthened her ability to understand public health challenges from policy, epidemiological, environmental, managerial, ethical and health-systems perspectives.

Professional Membership and Leadership

Vivian is a registered member of the Public Health Officers and Technicians Council of Kenya and a member of the Association of Public Health Officers of Kenya. She is also associated with the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD), Kenya Chapter.

Her leadership experience includes serving as Chairperson of PHOTC, Head of the Department of Environmental Health at Mount Kenya University, Chairperson of the Mount Kenya University School of Public Health Welfare Group and Session Chairperson at an International and Interdisciplinary Research Conference.

Personal Philosophy and Vision

Vivian's professional philosophy is founded on excellence, integrity, service, leadership, continuous learning and a commitment to improving people's lives through public health. She believes strongly in developing people, strengthening institutions and creating practical solutions to health challenges through education, research, innovation, policy and community engagement.

Her career demonstrates a consistent commitment to building bridges between academia and practice. Whether working with students in a university, public health practitioners through professional regulation, communities through public health programmes, or international partners through WHO and UNICEF initiatives, she has focused on strengthening capacity and improving systems.

She is particularly passionate about mentoring the next generation of public health professionals, advancing environmental and public health education, strengthening health systems, promoting evidence-informed policy and practice, and contributing to sustainable community health and development

With her combination of academic leadership, extensive public health practice, international experience, regulatory governance, research interests and commitment to professional development, Vivian Mmbone Mwalenga represents a public health professional whose career has consistently been driven by service, leadership, scholarship and a desire to create lasting impact in the health sector.