Nissily Mushani

I am a social scientist with over twelve years of experience in development economics, population dynamics, and applied research across sub-Saharan Africa. My expertise spans demographic dividend analysis, family planning, youth and adolescence, gender and development, rural livelihoods, public sector and agricultural economics, public health, and humanitarian programming.

I have led high-impact start-up initiatives, conducted rigorous policy analysis, and overseen the monitoring and evaluation of complex development programs. I bring a strong track record of translating evidence into action, informed by collaborations with leading institutions including the EU, USAID, UNFPA, UNICEF, ILO, DFID, and the Government of Malawi.

Known for my reliability and organizational acumen, I thrive in dynamic, interdisciplinary environments. I am committed to advancing evidence-based development strategies and seek full-time opportunities that challenge me professionally while allowing me to contribute meaningfully to policy, research, and practice.

• The International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX); providing quality Implementation Research guidance.
• The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN); A Study on Nutritional Governance Index.
• SIVIO Institute; conducted a survey of MSMEs in Malawi with a focus on digital finance access and use.
• The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN); Resilient Markets: A Food Systems Perspective. Vendor and Consumer Survey in traditional fresh food markets in Kenya.
• The Palladium Group -Health Policy Plus; Coordinating policy advocacy with targeted decision-makers and piloting a matching fund scheme to promote increased local investment in family planning.
• The Palladium Group -Health Policy Plus; supporting the application of the Family planning Technical Efficiency Assessment tool in Malawi.
• WaterAid Malawi; carry out a study on the extent to which water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and nutrition are integrated with Early Childhood Development (ECD) policies, strategies and frameworks.
• UNICEF Malawi; developed Malawi’s first strategy for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), 10-24.

• 2025 Moving Minds Alliance Fellow.
• 2024 African Research and Data (AfRes-Data) Fellow under UAPS
• 2021 winner of the Ingenuity Fund.
• 2017 winner of the 120 Under 40: The New Generation of Family Planning.
• 2012 Leaders in Environment and Development (LEAD) Africa Fellowship Programme
• The Joint Japan /World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP), 2009-2010.

• Keynote presenter at the National Symposium on Coordination of Adolescents and Youth SRHR and HIV AIDS programs in Malawi, 2017.
• Presented a paper at the Malawi 2016 Population and Development Conference.

• Ouma, C., & Mushani, N. (2024). Enhancing preventive treatment for malaria in pregnancy.
• Mushani, N. and Doctor, H.V. (2014). Public expenditure and health status in the context of millennium development goals in Malawi.

• Africa Climate and Health Responders Course, Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education, 09/01/24 - 10/31/24
• Promoting a Feminist Approach to Delivery and Financing of Public Services in Africa, African Feminist Macroeconomic Academy, 2021
• Data to Policy in Population, Family and Reproductive Health Summer Institute, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Bayer Scholar, 2021
• Designing Impact Evaluations and Field and Experiments, (EGAP learning days), African School of Economics, Benin, 2019
• Specialization Course on Land Economics and Governance at the University of Capetown, South Africa, 2019
• Impact Evaluation at the University of Laval-Canada, 2018
• Systematic Review Methodology (African Centre for Systematic Reviews & Knowledge and Africa Centre for Evidence), Kenya, 2016

• Malawi Demographic Dividend Study: Team Member responsible for providing technical leadership.
• National Assembly 2016 Guidelines for Evidence Use in decision-making.

Union of African Population studies

Ethics and Integrity

She contributed to the development of the National Research Agenda for Malawi 2063 MIP-1 (2021–2030), working within a team to align national priorities with evidence-informed planning. She provided technical leadership in the Final Evaluation of the Adolescent Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) Supplementation Intervention, producing policy briefs and a Management Response Plan. Her efforts led to the timely submission of over 15 research and evaluation outputs to UNICEF headquarters and the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office, alongside improved systems for ethical compliance and knowledge management. She also facilitated in-house capacity-building initiatives on gender-responsive research and developed terms of reference to integrate youth perspectives into evaluation processes.

In her role managing grants and technical teams, Nissily supported over 20 consultants and local organizations implementing development and advocacy initiatives. She was instrumental in shaping flagship projects such as Afikepo, Chuma Cha Dziko, and Zantchito – Skills for Jobs, where she applied rigorous policy analysis and tools such as cost-benefit assessments, gender budgeting, and demographic dividend modelling. Her leadership in the Malawi Youth Strategy (2017) and technical assistance to the Ministries of Health, Youth, and Economic Planning strengthened inter-sectoral policy coherence and resource mobilization. Her work consistently bridged the gap between research and implementation—producing knowledge products that informed decision-making and enhanced program effectiveness.

As a regional consultant for the IREX Youth Excel initiative, Nissily supported over 7 youth-led and youth-serving organizations in Kenya, Malawi and Zambia to conduct high-quality, locally led implementation research on menstrual health and girls’ education. She provided technical guidance from study design through dissemination, enhancing the capacity of grassroots organizations to generate actionable evidence. Her leadership resulted in the development of learning briefs, meta-syntheses, and a widely used guidance note on youth engagement in research and evaluation.