Agot Kawango
Agot Kawango was elected as an AAS Fellow in 2018. As a fellow, Agot Kawango contributes to the development of the Academy’s strategic direction through participation in AAS activities and governance structures. . This gears the Academys vision of transforming african lives through science.
Director & CEO, Impact Research and Development Organization, Nyanza Initiative for Girls Education and Empowerment, and KISIHOMI Triple D Society.
A Kenyan research scientist, Dr. Kawango obtained concurrent PhD and MPH from the University of Washington, Seattle, then proceeded to coordinate the ground-breaking trial on medical male circumcision for HIV prevention at the Kisumu site, western Kenya. She has conducted multiple studies on various topics, including pre-exposure prophylaxis, multipurpose technologies, HIV self-testing, optimizing HIV care outcomes among adolescents and young adults living with HIV, improving savings as a strategy to reduce spending on transactional sex and alcohol, among others. She also runs community-based HIV, Malaria and TB prevention programs. Her site is currently conducting multiple drug and vaccine trials.
Dr. Kawango also founded Nyanza Initiative for Girls Education and Empowerment, and raises funds locally to return to school girls who dropped out mainly due to pregnancy, early marriage or female genital mutilation. She is also the founder of Reducing HIV among Adolescents and Youth (RHAY), a movement in East and Southern Africa dedicated to ensuring that young people’s voices are represented in developing and implementing HIV interventions that will directly affect their health.
Lastly, Dr. Kawango is the Director of KISIHOMI Triple D Society, a community initiative currently being set up to spur grassroots development in four counties in western Kenya (Kisumu, Siaya, Homabay and Migori).
