SOAS PhD student becomes the first winner of the APORDE Young Scholars' Prize

20 August 2021

Julia Ngozi Chukwuma, PhD student in Economics, has become the first winner of The African Programme on Rethinking Development Economics (APORDE) and the South African Research Chair in Industrial Development (SARChI Industrial Development) 2021 Prize for Young Scholars for her paper ‘The political economy of health system reform in Nigeria: a National Health Act for universal health coverage in Nigeria?’.

Julia has been invited to take part in this year's APORDE programme running at the beginning of September and to have a session devoted to presenting and discussing her winning paper.

This year was the first year of the Thandika Mkandawire Prize for Outstanding Scholarship in African Political Economy and Economic Development and Prize for Young Scholars.

Christopher Crammer, Professor of the Political Economy of Development and Chair of APORDE said:

"As the Chair of APORDE's Academic Scientific Committee I am absolutely delighted to have been involved in the creation of and first iteration of the Thandika Mkandawire Prize in Outstanding Scholarship in African Political Economy and Development Economics, together with the Young Scholars' Prize. Thandika was an inspiring scholar and intellectual and it is wonderful to be able to honour his legacy through these prizes. That the first winner of the Young Scholars' Prize turned out to be a PhD student at SOAS, Julia Ngozi Chukwuma, is an added, fantastic, bonus. I really congratulate Julia, whose paper on the political economy of health services in Nigeria really impressed both the shortlisting and the main decision panellists, themselves distinguished critical scholars in political economy."

Find out more about APORDE .