GFMER Members

Shyam Thapa

Shyam Thapa, PhD, is currently an independent consultant specializing in reproductive health services research and program evaluation. He also serves as an adjunct professor at the School of Public Health at the Chitwan Medical College and also at the Pokhara University Research Center, both based in Nepal. He teaches (online and on campus) courses in research methods and protocol development, mainly to master’s and doctoral degree students in public health, nursing, and demography.

He has previously been a Global Health Fellow working with USAID’s Bureau of Global Health – and as a member of the Bureau’s Technical Leadership and Research (TLR) team, he served as a research and evaluation advisor. Prior to his time working with USAID, Thapa served as a Scientist with the Department of Reproductive Health and Research, at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland. While at WHO, Thapa was a remember of the organization’s Research Ethics Review Committee and additionally provided strategic, technical and management support for research in reproductive health, particularly in the areas of family planning, young people's sexual and reproductive health, and the prevention of unsafe abortion. Thapa has also served as an adjunct member of the faculty in the Global Health Department, at Des Moines University in Iowa.

Before joining WHO, Thapa was the Director of Policy and Research for the Saving Newborn Lives (SNL) program of Save the Children, based in Washington, DC. In this position he was primarily charged with the management, strategic development, implementation, and technical support of community-based, randomized control trials and operations research in the area newborn health and survival in 18 different countries. Prior to his time at Save the Children, he held various research and evaluation positions focusing on reproductive health while with Family Health International (FHI) at both its Arlington, Virginia, and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina offices in the US. On deputation from FHI, Thapa served for several years as a resident technical adviser to the Government of Nepal, working with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Population and Environment, the National Planning Commission, and USAID. Additionally, Thapa has also served as adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Maternal and Child Health at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health in Chapel Hill, and as an adjunct visiting research fellow for the Health and Population Program, at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Thapa earned his PhD at Brown University (USA). He has over 25 years of professional experience which has included technical capacity building, monitoring and evaluation, scaling-up projects, implementation/operations research, evidence-based policy research and program development. However, he describes the foundation of his professional experience as reproductive health services research and program evaluation. He has worked extensively in countries in Asia and Africa (particularly in East Africa and Southern Africa). He has authored and co-authored numerous articles, papers, book chapters and monographs.