The email notifications popped up on Halima Twabi’s screen. She opened it with anticipation.
As she went through the message, her heart was fulfilled with gratitude. It was good news.
She had been selected as the only African recipient of the Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing world— Elsevier Foundation Awards.
These awards are given to early career women scientists from the developing world for their contributions to research in advancing the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals goal number three (SDG 3) which seeks to ensure health lives and promote well-being.
Twabi once hoped to become a medical doctor. But life took her on the biostatistics career path.
She is now an associate professor of statistics at the University of Malawi (Unima) under the mathematical sciences department.
Initially, Twabi was bent on becoming a medical doctor, but because she didn’t qualify, she devised another plan to get into the medical school.
She decided to take the route via Bachelor of Science and study for two years and then apply for the medicine programme at the College of Medicine.
She says: “But then, several people played a role in showing me the importance of statistics. Professor Namangale taught us about its significance and Dr. Esnat Chirwa, who was the only female in the department at the time, took us through the subject.
“The way she presented it and demonstrated its relevance in the health sector and other fields inspired me to pursue statistics. I thought to myself, ‘If she can do it, then I can too.’ I realised I could become a statistician and use my skills to help people understand their data, enabling them to make informed decisions in their institutions or companies.”
But the journey was not all that rosy.
Twabi says there’s always that feeling of doubt about being unable to perform as well as the male counterparts.
“Secondly, there’s the discouragement from others. I remember some women studying physics who were told right in their faces by some male counterparts that they wouldn’t succeed,” she says.
Despite the setbacks, she was fortunate to have people who encouraged her. This helped her to fix her gaze on the ultimate goal.
The associate professor recounts how the road to victory started and how she eventually came to work Unima.
She did her primary school at Jamia Islamia in Blantyre. From there, she went to Asalaam Girls Secondary School in Zomba.
Twabi was selected to pursue a Bachelor of Science.
“I majored in statistics. Due to my performance, I was called for an interview for a staff associate position and I was successful. I joined Unima in 2012 as staff associate,” she says.
She went on to pursue a master of science in Biostatistics and became a full lecturer in 2016.
“Then I started my PhD studies in Biostatistics in 2017 and completed it in 2022,” says Twabi.
The 34-year-old mother of three says the presence of role models and mentors contributed towards the shaping of her career path.
Notable figures that helped her include Sakina Bwanali Mussa, a diplomat and former lecturer at the Polytechinc and Dr. Rabiya Chiosa, executive dean at the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences.
“These women, coming from minority backgrounds, proved that education was possible and motivated me to push forward,” she said.
Twabi is also gratitude to her supervisor Professor Samuel Manda for rendering a helping hand for her to clinch the award.
The young achiever, who is also a founding member of Girls in Science, is passionate about increased participation of girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
“With the experience l had and that of my colleagues, we thought about starting this programme to inspire more girls into the science field.
It has been impactful and rewarding because we have done a lot of outreach. The most rewarding thing is to see girls we have reached out to at the university,” adds Twabi.
While championing for girl’s education in science, Twabi and her colleagues secured funding from Africa Academy of Sciences for a mentorship programme for university students.
She says: “Going to the community alone advocating for more girls in the science field was not enough, the university students also needed to benefit from this initiative.
“Despite that they were already in the science field we could see fear in them. After the mentorship we witnessed their confidence grow.”
The initiative’s maiden science camp at Unima attracted 360 students.
“It was really fascinating to have that turn out,” says Twabi.
She says she is currently working on raising awareness on the impact of statistics in the country.
“One project I’m working on is called KICS — Unlocking Data Use and Users in Foundation Learning. We’re examining Malawi’s education data systems to identify research gaps in foundational learning, particularly in numeracy and literacy for early grades,” she says.
In the other project, which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Twabi and her team focus on strengthening data analytics in women’s health research.
“As the country investigator, I’m involved in capacity building for women data modelers and exploring health research questions through a gender lens. This blanket approach will help know the sort of intervention a woman requires,” she says.
Twabi admits that juggling the responsibility of motherhood, scientist and wife has not been an easy task.
But through prioritisation and support from her husband, she wades through the tide of daily busy schedules.
When all is said and done, Twabi says she wants to be remembered as that woman who championed girl’s education, particularly in sciences.
“Think about a girl coming from a rural area who becomes an engineer. Imagine the impact that will have within her community. Even becoming a nurse is part of science and it will not only help her, but also seep into and uplift the entire community,” she says.
