Dr. Lutendo Malisha currently serves as the Southern African Representative for the Union for African Population Studies (UAPS). She is the Deputy Director of the Population Statistics Division at Statistics South Africa. She holds a PhD in Population Studies from North-West University, Mafikeng, South Africa. With over 18 years of experience in government, Dr. Malisha has been extensively involved in planning, data collection, analysis, and reporting of large national surveys. She is deeply committed to research and to mentoring young scientists in research and data-related fields. Her work includes extensive collaboration with both national and international organizations in the evaluation and monitoring of development programmes, as well as strong engagement with internal and external stakeholders.