Parinita Bhattacharjee, MA

Research summary

Parinita  Bhattacharjee's current research is centered around HIV prevention in Kenya. She is currently leading a research project to evaluate the HIV prevention landscape in Kenya, exploring existing delivery systems and their capacity to scale up interventions, as well as the delivery channels and platforms for HIV prevention for priority populations. In addition, she is leading a study that seeks to assess three HIV testing outcomes among Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) using a mixed-methods program science approach. She also co-leads a project to evaluate the HIV prevention projects among Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) funded by Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) in five African countries.

Research themes

  • adolescent girls and young women
  • gender equality
  • HIV prevention
  • key populations
  • participatory research
  • violence against women and girls

Biography

Parinita Bhattacharjee is an assistant professor of community health sciences at the Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba. With 25 years of professional experience in global health, she is considered an expert in the field, particularly in the areas of HIV and AIDS, sexual and reproductive health, and disability.

Currently, Bhattacharjee serves as the Director of Program Delivery at the Institute for Global Public Health, University of Manitoba. In this capacity, she oversees the design and implementation of global health programs focused on marginalized populations in partnership with governmental, civil society, academic, and community-based organizations. Bhattacharjee is currently based in Nairobi, Kenya, where she is working to scale up key populations program in the country and serve as the lead technical advisor on the Key Population pillar for the South to South Learning Network under the Global Prevention Coalition led by Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

Throughout her career, Bhattacharjee has held leadership positions in a variety of large-scale intervention projects funded by prestigious organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and the Government of India. She has led the BMGF-funded Avahan program, which scaled up interventions to reach 60,000 sex workers and 25,000 men who have sex with men in one of the states in India. Bhattacharjee has also provided technical support to the Governments of Bhutan and Sri Lanka in designing and piloting HIV prevention interventions with key populations. She led the team to provide technical support to the LINKAGES project implemented by Family Health International 360 (FHI360) and funded by USAID in 11 countries, mostly in Africa.

Bhattacharjee holds a master of social work degree from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India (1995) and a bachelor of arts in political science degree from Wilson College, Mumbai, India (1993). Her contributions to the global health sector have been significant, and her expertise continues to be in high demand by institutions and organizations around the world.

Education

Master of Social Work, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India (1995)

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Wilson College, Mumbai, India (1993)

Contact us

Community Health Sciences
Max Rady College of Medicine
Room S113 - 750 Bannatyne Avenue
University of Manitoba (Bannatyne campus)
Winnipeg, MB R3E 0W3 Canada

shannon.turczak@umanitoba.ca
204-789-3473