Tulane global health professor named to United Nations advisory board

Carolyn Scofield cscofiel@tulane.edu
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Anastasia Gage’s current research at Tulane focuses on adolescent health, gender-based violence, and maternal and reproductive health in sub-Saharan Africa and Haiti. (Photo provided)

Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine professor Anastasia Gage has been named a member of a new high-level advisory board for the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The board brings together 15 experts in economic and social affairs from around the world to help address global issues.

The UN advisory board is expected to strengthen the link between the U.N.’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the global economic and social policy research community.

“When you think about how the world’s population is changing and about the sustainable development goals, I think that we have an opportunity to contribute information and advice as to the kind of research that is needed to shed light on how countries are working towards the achievement of those goals in areas of critical importance,” Gage said.

Gage’s research at Tulane focuses on adolescent health, gender-based violence, and maternal and reproductive health in sub-Saharan Africa and Haiti. She’s currently working in the Democratic Republic of Congo on a research project funded by a Gates Foundation grant. The MOMENTUM project provides nursing students training in counseling first-time mothers aged 15-24 and the fathers of their babies on family planning, birth preparedness, newborn care and gender-equitable attitudes.

Gage previously served as president of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population and on the Board of Directors for the African Population and Health Research Center in Nairobi. She said being named to the UN advisory board is one of the greatest honors she has received.

“I don’t think there’s a greater acknowledgement of my potential contribution to my profession than this,” Gage said. “The world is experiencing significant population changes, and this board will have an important role in identifying which areas need more research and policy analysis.”