Harriet Birungi is a program associate with the Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health program (FRONTIERS) based in the Nairobi office. Birungi has undertaken operations research on the quality of reproductive health services and the sexual and reproductive health needs of men. She has also carried out studies on the acceptability and sustainability of focused antenatal care and the sustainability of malaria in pregnancy initiatives in eastern and southern Africa. Birungi has mentored research fellows and supported reproductive health nongovernmental organizations in Africa in utilizing operations research to address their financial sustainability issues.

Prior to joining the Council, Birungi was a senior researcher at the Makerere Institute of Social Research, where she initiated and coordinated studies on the use of pharmaceuticals in different health care systems, the changing relations between public and private health care in the context of health care reforms, poverty dimensions in the health sector, health issues in post-conflict societies, and revitalization of primary health care.

Birungi is a graduate of Makerere University, Uganda, and received an M.A. in development studies from the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, The Netherlands, and a Ph.D. in medical anthropology from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.