Purity Mwenda, MA, BA

Purity Mwenda’s global health focus centers on advancing mental health equity among young people and women in underserved communities through community-led, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive interventions. Through Elim Trust, she contributes to programs that integrate psychosocial healing, gender-based violence prevention and response, economic empowerment, and climate-responsive livelihoods to address structural drivers of poor health and strengthen individual and community resilience. Her interests in global health equity align with the Center’s themes of empowering women, strengthening systems for health, and addressing social and environmental determinants of health. Mwenda’s research focuses on implementation and community-based approaches, examining how psychosocial support, gender-based violence prevention, economic empowerment, and climate-responsive livelihoods influence mental health and well-being among young people and women in underserved communities. She is particularly interested in generating evidence on equitable, culturally responsive, and sustainable interventions that address the social and structural determinants of health.