The Water, Sanitation, Health and Appropriate Technology Development Centre (WASHTED) proudly participated in the Research and Innovation Week 2025 hosted by the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS) from 11–12 August 2025.
The event, themed “Driving Sustainable Growth for an Inclusive and Entrepreneurial Malawi,” brought together innovators, researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders for two days of knowledge sharing, innovation pitching, and collaboration. Distinguished guests included Mr. Clarence Gama, Chief Executive Officer of NICO Technologies and President of the ICT Association of Malawi, who served as Guest of Honour; Dr. Becky Jones-Phillips, Director of Enterprise and Innovation at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, who delivered the keynote address; Professor Kondwani Jambo, Professor of Immunology and Infection at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine; Dr. Joseph Nagoli, Senior Research Coordinator for IFPRI and Policy Hub Leader for the CGIAR in Malawi; Professor Faidess Mwale, Associate Professor in Water Resources Engineering at MUBAS; Dr. Robert Hanjahanja, Chief Executive Officer of Blantyre Water Board; and Mrs. Pilirani Chuma, Managing Partner at Macdonald & Don Associates.
WASHTED was well represented through impactful research presentations by Kondwani Luwe, Rossanie Malolo, Monica Nzanga, Dyson Kazembe, Simon Chima, and Andrew Mnkhwamba. Their work addressed critical issues in water, sanitation, hygiene, and environmental health, ranging from behavioural drivers of single-use plastic disposal in Blantyre and the role of plastic bottle reuse in bacterial transmission to sanitation practices among adolescents, compliance and barriers in early childhood development centres, and global reviews of WASH interventions targeting young people. These presentations underscored WASHTED’s commitment to producing evidence-based solutions that improve public health and advance sustainable development in Malawi and beyond.
The week concluded with an awards ceremony, where WASHTED received the prestigious “Research Through Collaboration” Award in recognition of its strong partnerships and impactful joint initiatives. In addition, Taonga Mwapasa, one of WASHTED’s emerging scholars, was honoured with the “Early Career Researcher Award” for her exceptional contributions to advancing WASH and environmental health research. These awards reflect the centre’s continued dedication to fostering innovation, building collaborative networks, and contributing meaningfully to the national and global research agenda.
