Thomas John Bisika
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Thomas John Bisika | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Scotland Malawi Partnership photo in 2024 | |
| Born | 1967 (age 58–59) |
| Occupations | academic and diplomat |
| Known for | Malawi's High Commissioner to the UK |
Thomas John Bisika (born 1967) is a social demographer and public health specialist, diplomat, and former health systems specialist at the World Health Organization in Nigeria. He became the Malawi High Commissioner to the United Kingdom in 2022.[1]
Bisika was born on 6 April 1967 and he is from Makanjira Village, TA Chikowi, in the Zomba District of Malawi. He was the eighth of twelve children and like his elder brothers he studied at Chancellor College of the University of Malawi.[1] While a student, Bisika formed the college's Demography Student Association and became its first President. He was the interim President of the Student Union of Chancellor College between 1992 and 1993.[citation needed]
Bisika has studied at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, University of Hawaiʻi, University of the Witwatersrand, Galilee College (Israel)[2] and the University of South Africa. He holds a B.Sc. in Demography and Computer Science, an M.A. in Reproductive Health Demography and Statistics, a postgraduate certificate in Health Systems Management and Doctorate of Science in Medical Anthropology.[citation needed]
Bisika was the Chief of Division responsible for Health, HIV/AIDS, Nutrition, other related infectious diseases and Population at the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.[3][4] He worked as a Programme Specialist for the United Nations Population Fund in the sub-regional office for Southern Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa as part of his career as a United Nations diplomat.
Bisika was a Senior Lecturer in health policy and management at the University of Pretoria School of Health Systems. From 1993 to 2005 he was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Research of the University of Malawi. During this period he also taught demography and sociology at Chancellor College, a constituent College of the University of Malawi. He is a member of the Population Association of America.
In 2022 he presented his credentials to Queen Elizabeth II as Malawi's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.[1]
In 2025 he welcomed the launch of a Scotland Chapter of the UK-Malawi Chamber of Commerce. This was made in collaboration with the Scotland Malawi Partnership with a scheduled first event in June 2025.[5]
Charity work
Bisika was a young member of the Lions Club International in Malawi. From 1994 to 2001, Bisika was the chairperson of the National Health Sciences Research Committee which is the National Health Research Ethics Review Board for the Malawi Government. It is located in the Ministry of Health headquarters. He approved a number of clinical trials and health related studies including some involving antiretroviral therapy. From 1998–2000 he was part of the Essential National Health Research network created under the auspices of the Council for Health Research and Development (COHRED). In 2008 Bisika was a member of the Positive Synergies between Global Health Initiatives and Health systems and a member of the Global Health Workforce Alliance (GHWA) and the Africa Platform on Human Resources for Health.