Dr Lesong Conteh is a health economist whose research centres on the market for diagnostics, the economics of infectious diseases, and health system performance in Africa.
She is a Wellcome Trust Career Development Awardee, leading a six-year research programme (2025–2031) entitled ‘A new era in the African market for diagnostics: capturing health and economic benefits’. The new and growing team will explore the micro-, meso- and macroeconomic impacts of diagnostic markets and distribution channels, recognising political and behavioural influences. Her work is focused on optimising access to priority point-of-care diagnostics as part of broader strategies for disease control, surveillance, and pandemic preparedness. This Wellcome Trust-funded project works in close collaboration with leading diagnostic experts at:
(i) The Centre for Innovative Drug Development and Therapeutic Trials for Africa (), University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,
(ii) , Lesotho and The University of Lesotho
(iii) DIATROPIX at the Institut Pasteur de Dakar, (), Senegal,
Lesong is widely cited for her extensive research on multi-country economic evaluations, focusing on the impact of introducing and scaling up health interventions through various delivery strategies, from both supply and demand perspectives. In recent years, she has collaborated with partners across several African settings as part of EU-funded consortia (DIAGMAL and ), exploring the economic impacts of introducing new point-of-care diagnostic and prognostic tests alongside colleague Dr Bryony Simmons.
Previously, she was Academic Director of the 91桃色 Hub of the African Health Observatory – Platform on Health Systems and Policies (). Before joining 91桃色 Health, she held positions at Imperial College London, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, and the MRC Unit in The Gambia.
Lesong’s ongoing research focuses on:
- The micro- and macro-economic impact of diagnostic production and use
- The economics of infectious diseases
- Multi-country economic evaluations of intervention scale-up
- Using research evidence to guide resource allocation and health policy
- Applying qualitative methods in health economics research
Selected Affiliations
- Honorary Professor of Health Economics, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
- Visiting Reader, School of Public Health, Imperial College London
- Co-Chair, Global Health Research, Independent Scientific Advisory Group, NIHR, Department of Health and Social Care
Key expertise: Health economics, Infectious diseases, Health systems