Ivalda Benigna Macicame

Ivalda is a Mozambican public health researcher and epidemiologist affiliated with the Instituto Nacional de Saúde (INS), where she has served as Director of Surveys and Health Observation for the past 4 years.

She has a medical degree from Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique and a PhD in Medical Research and International Health from Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, Germany.

Her work focuses on infectious diseases epidemiology, mortality surveillance, and health systems data, contributing to national and international research efforts aimed at strengthening disease monitoring and response in Mozambique. She has been a key contributor to large-scale initiatives such as the Countrywide Mortality Surveillance for Action (COMSA) platform, which generates nationally representative data on causes of death—highlighting the significant burden of infectious diseases, including HIV, malaria, diarrheal diseases, and respiratory infections.

Her research also spans HIV epidemiology, COVID-19 surveillance, and infectious disease modeling, supporting evidence-based public health interventions in low-resource settings.

In the field of sepsis, she is engaged in global collaborations (including initiatives linked to World Sepsis Day and the STAIRS network) that aim to improve awareness, research capacity, and clinical competencies for sepsis management in Africa.

Overall, her work bridges data-driven surveillance and infectious disease research, with a strong emphasis on reducing the burden of preventable deaths—including those related to sepsis—in Mozambique and across sub-Saharan Africa.