Public health

We have experience in nutrition and food security, maternal health, access to care, sexual and reproductive health, child development.

An enumerator interviews a participant for the SPIR endline in Ethiopia

Our work in public health

Laterite’s portfolio includes impact evaluations, desk-based assessments and landscape analysis, as well as large mixed-methods research projects involving thousands of households. We have experience in complex data collection instruments such as anthropometric measurements and screening for stunting and malnutrition, environmental monitoring, and child development assessments.

Read the full capacity statement here

Examples of work

Mental health

Laterite was the data collection partner for IFPRI’s evaluation of the group Problem Management plus (gPM+) intervention in Ethiopia, designed to address mental health problems such as depression, stress or anxiety.

Maternal health

We are working with KEMRI in Kenya on a longitudinal study of women enrolled at first visit up to three months after delivery to document their experience during pregnancy and childbirth.

Reproductive health

We are working with CIFF to evaluate the impact of the Agonyora program on uptake of family planning among adolescents and youth, and changes in social norms surrounding gender and sexuality.

Sugira Muryango

Child development

Laterite is Boston College’s data collection partner on the multi-year, mixed-methods evaluation of Sugira Muryango, a child development intervention implemented in Rwanda.

Working with a sample of 1,040 households with at least one child between 6 and 36 months, we collected data from primary caregivers, their intimate partners, and eligible children. Data collection also included anthropometrics measurements and observational assessments of child development using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire and the Malawi Developmental Assessment Tool.

Capacity statement: Early childhood development (PDF)

Sector leads

Sylvia Onchaga

Research Associate

Sylvia is biostatistician with experience in data management, analysis, and reporting. She supports various projects in public health, agriculture, gender and livelihoods in Laterite's Kenya office. She is passionate about data quality monitoring and the application of both simple and advanced statistical methods to derive information from data to guide policy implementation. Since postgraduate qualification in 2017, Sylvia worked with African Population Health and Research Center (APHRC) as a data manager and analyst, before joining Laterite. She holds a Master's degree in Medical statistics and a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry, both from the University of Nairobi.

Addisalem Fikre

Research Associate

Addisalem is a Research Associate at Laterite's Ethiopia office, contributing to projects for clients such as the World Bank, the University of Washington, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). His expertise encompasses data analysis and reporting, survey coding, training, data monitoring and cleaning, qualitative data collection and coding, and ensuring rigorous data quality.Prior to joining Laterite, Addisalem managed a maternal and child morbidity and mortality program at Birhan, a collaborative initiative between Harvard University and St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College. He also managed an implementation research project by Harvard University and Addis Ababa University focused on scaling up Kangaroo Mother Care in Ethiopia. Additionally, he managed operational research for Save the Children International's Empowering New Generations to Improve Nutrition and Economic Opportunities project, in partnership with Tufts University. Addisalem's diverse background includes experience as an HIV/AIDS project coordinator, Head of Research and Training at a consulting firm, and as a clinician in a health facility. He holds a Master's and Bachelor's degree in Public Health from Haramaya University, a Bachelor of Arts in Management from St. Mary University College, and a certificate in Delivery Science in International Nutrition from Tufts University.

Padmini Balaji

Research Analyst

Padmini works in Laterite's Ethiopia office and is skilled in handling quantitative data, including monitoring, cleaning and analysis, as well as in qualitative data coding and analysis. She grew up in India, Kenya, UAE, and the USA. Before joining Laterite, Padmini supported an implementation research project addressing intimate partner violence in Kenya at Ujamaa-Africa in partnership with Johns Hopkins University. Earlier, she worked on research projects in East Africa and Asia in the fields of gender-based violence, reproductive health, digital health, and psychosocial health. Padmini holds a Master of Science in Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a Bachelor's in Public Health and Psychology from Johns Hopkins University. In her free time, she likes to make art and discover new music.