Dr Mirgissa Kaba Serbessa (BA, MA, PhD) is an enthusiastic academic who combined the fields of social and public health sciences. During his professional career of over 30 years, he demonstrated his comprehensive competencies in Teaching, Research, Programme Management and Leadership.
After his initial training in Sociology, he joined the former Jimma Institute of Health Sciences, now Jimma University, in Ethiopia, as a Graduate Assistant in 1988. Dr Serbessa served the university at a different level in Teaching, Research, Coordinating different programmes as well as Establishing and Heading the External Relation office of the newly established Jimma University.
Dr Serbessa joined UNICEF in 2001 where he Set Up, Managed and Led UNICEF's HIV and AIDS programme. During his stay with UNICEF, he greatly contributed to the government’s HIV and AIDS strategy and programmes, particularly as it relates to adolescents and youth development. He resigned from UNICEF in 2009 to complete his PhD at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute of the University of Basel in Switzerland (2011).
Dr Serbessa has Published over 60 scientific works in reputable journals. The emphasis of his scientific works is on specific health problems and places. Dr Serbessa's research revolves around maternal and adolescent-youth health, HIV/AIDS, skin diseases, cervical cancer as well as urban and pastoral health.
Currently, he is an Associate Professor of Public Health at the School of Public Health at the Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. His proactive focus is in the areas of Social and Behavioral Health. Dr Serbessa has received various awards and recognitions not only for his academic work but also for his community service. He is a Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigator of various research projects and is an Editor In Chief of the Ethiopian Journal of Health Development, a pioneering peer-reviewed scientific journal in Ethiopia.
