With 30 years of experience in medicine, epidemiology, international health, and development Dr. Chikuba-McLeod (MBChB, MPH, MSc), has managed multiple public health projects, including four funded by USAID, providing support to governments, civil society partners, the private sector, and beneficiary communities.
Currently, Dr. Chikuba-McLeod serves as the Project Director for the JSI Research & Training Institute Inc. (JSI)-implemented USAID DISCOVER-Health Project, which supports health service delivery programs in Zambia. Dr. Chikuba-McLeod, who also serves as JSI Country Representative in Zambia, holds a medical degree from the University of Zambia, an MPH in International Health from Boston University, and an MSc in Epidemiology from Harvard University.
What drives your passion for serving in development assistance?
In my case, the foundation is important because overall, it is my faith that drives and guides me in everything in my life, including my job. As a woman of faith, a Christian, I know I am in this job and in this place not because of me, but for a higher purpose, and this rock-solid foundation helps me to stay grounded and serve with humility. I don’t always succeed; sometimes I fail miserably, but I always keep trying.
Specifically, I started my career working as a medical doctor, with a patient or client in front of me, face-to-face, depending on me to deliver my absolute best to help address their needs. Even as I expanded my sphere of work into public health working for the greater good, I never lost the ability to see the face, the human being, at the receiving end of what I do every day.
"When I peek into the yesterday of my career, there are mistakes I made and things I could have done differently, but they are overwhelmingly redeemed by the successes achieved because I dared to try and I did my best."
Improving access and availability of quality healthcare for the woman in Ngabwe who needs her family planning injection; the 6-year-old little boy in Kantolomba who needs his ARV medicines; the adolescent girl in Chingola who needs her PrEP ARVs; the 50-year old hypertensive fisherman in Itezhi Tezhi who could die during the next wave COVID-19 if he cannot access vaccines; and so many others…I see them all in my mind’s eyes, and delivering my best every day for them all, both male and female, is what drives me.
When I do my best in my sphere of influence, together with the efforts of others, we collectively contribute to a better Zambia and a better world. I have a responsibility, a purpose in Christian-speak, to do my part, and to do that with care, compassion and humility, seeing the inherent dignity in every human being, male and female, and valuing them equally.
What advice can you offer to young people and other women considering a career in development?
If this is where your interest lies, come on over! There is nothing more rewarding than seeing the fruits of your work through the improved lives and livelihoods of other people, and sometimes in development you get to experience that first-hand. In this line of work as in any other, it is important to love what you do and do it with passion, diligence and integrity.
Do not let fear of failing or making mistakes stop you from trying and putting in your very best. When I peek into the yesterday of my career, there are many mistakes I made and things I could have done differently, but they are overwhelmingly redeemed by the successes achieved because I dared to try and I did my best. Does the fact that one is a woman and/or young still matter in this line of work? To be honest it does, but less so than it did 30 years ago when I was a young new-entrant public health practitioner.
"I work with and mentor so many young women, who, together with like-minded men, are busting away the gender biases towards a more gender equal workplace and world. I couldn’t be prouder of them all, male and female!"
So much progress has been made; it is worth noting and celebrating that. It underscores the importance of continuing to meaningfully contribute, individually and collectively, to a world where diversity, equity and inclusiveness are valued, championed and celebrated, including in the boardroom. We know that even when women are not represented in the boardroom where decisions, including decisions about women’s lives, are made, they are still in the yard where the consequences of these decisions are reaped. This imbalance has to be righted!
I work with and mentor so many young women, who together with like-minded men, are busting away the gender biases towards a more gender equal workplace and world. I couldn’t be prouder of them all, male and female! #BreakTheBias!
Please share a moment which reinforced your career choice.
I head a project that is involved in health service delivery through health posts located in the heart of Zambian high-density and relatively poor communities. Before COVID-19 vaccines became available in Zambia, especially during the first, second, third waves of COVID-19, understandably and with partial lockdowns, organizations closed offices and began working remotely. We couldn’t do that; our 400 healthcare workers and 1,500 community health workers (CHWs) involved in providing port-of-first-call health services kept all 251 Project-supported health posts open and operational throughout.
We decided as senior management to keep our offices open as well, to better support our brave service providers at the frontlines, including making sure they had adequate infection control supplies and providing them with in-person technical support to implement measures to make service delivery safer for them and our clients/patients, and maintain quality. While we reduced the number of staff in the offices, I and the other Directors were present in our offices every day to support not only our staff, but the national COVID-19 response more broadly. Many of our frontline staff have told me that despite fears for their own safety, they kept reporting for work because they knew senior management had their back.
I am really proud that my senior management team and I, together with our frontline staff, stood with the country and directly contributed to the early COVID-19 response at the facility, community and national levels. A big shout-out to the USAID DISCOVER-Health Directors and our team of healthcare workers and Community Health Workers who risked the most, but continued to be present every day to deliver essential health services! My team is simply the best!
Dr. Chikuba-McLeod
Dr. Muka Chikuba-McLeod