Staff Faculty: Social Sciences

Tšoamathe is a population scientist with a diverse skills set and passion for data for sustainable development accrued over 20 years of progressive involvement in population and development activities. She re-joined the university in 2019 from the UNDP where she was providing strategic leadership in the Lesotho Data Project. Prior to this she worked with the Lesotho Millennium Development Agency (LMDA) where she was leading the Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Section. At the same agency she worked with a team of experts to develop the second Compact for Lesotho, as an M&E Specialist. This was preceded by a career in academia as a Demography Lecturer at the National University of Lesotho (NUL); a Researcher at the National AIDS Commission; Senior Researcher at the Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation; Senior Statistician at the Bureau of Statistics and Research Consultant for various entities including government and UN agencies. Research Interest Sexual and Reproductive Health inclusive of HIV and AIDS; Youth Development; and Governance Current Research Projects: § Factors Associated with Skilled Birth Assistance in Lesotho after 2015 § Reproductive Health in Lesotho after ICPD § Factors Associated with Gender-Based Violence in Lesotho Collaborations Collaboration with the University of Southampton, UK on the Child Poverty Research Project.

Mapitso Lebuso lectures introduction to population studies, and demographic methods including techniques in demographic estimation, fertility and nuptiality, mortality and morbidity and a variety of other demography courses. Her past teaching experience (outside the university) includes teaching Introduction to Epidemiology and basic statistics. Her research interests are on adolescents, morbidity and maternal health-related issues. Her administrative experience progressed from being a tutor in the Faculty of Social Sciences to Head of the Department in 2014. She has also been involved in some data analysis consultancy projects and provided professional services for the Lesotho Government and private Institutions. She has presented papers, published chapters in books, written reports on population-related issues and been engaged in several other professional activities including supervision of undergraduate research and reviewing of research papers. She is a member of professional bodies such as the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), OSSREA and Member of the Population Association for Southern Africa (PASA).

Abiel M. Lekulo is an enthusiastic graduate of the MA Health Demography program. His skills include planning and conducting health studies, collecting and analysing health data, reporting findings to health policymakers and the general public, and creating and managing health programs. Abiel’s current research projects include a study on the prevalence and association of HIV and tuberculosis status in older adults in South Africa, highlighting the need for greater scientific and political attention to ageing and health. He is also conducting a study on utilising maternal health services and its determinants, focusing on women in rural South African provinces. These projects showcase Abiel’s expertise in conducting rigorous and impactful research on health issues, aiming to improve health outcomes and inform policy decisions.

Currently a lecturer of statistics in the Department of Statistics and Demography. Has worked at the Bureau of Statistics as a statistician. Currently also a country (Lesotho) coordinator; for Young African Statisticians (YAS) for the term 2021-2022 and International Statistical Literacy Project. She has taught Statistics courses including Design of Experiments, Elementary Statistics, Introduction to Data Analysis Methods, Introduction to Time Series and Operations Research.

I have a background in research on youth development and public health. I have worked as a research assistant, data entry clerk and enumerator in the academic, private and public sector sectors. Research Interests · Social determinants of health, · Environment and health, · Health seeking behavior · Youth development Teaching Interest · Demography modules

I am currently a lecturer at The National University of Lesotho with an experience of ten years. I offer Statistics courses including Statistical Methods for Business I and II, Health Statistics and Network Analysis. My research interests are in Regression Analysis. I have served the Faculty of Social Sciences for three years as a student admission representative.

Motena Mapesela is a Lecturer in Statistics, with over 10 years of teaching experience. Before joining NUL she worked as a Food Security Advisor for Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini. She has taught statistics courses including: Elementary Statistics, Introduction to Data Analysis Methods, Design of Experiments, Introduction to Statistics, Introduction to Probability Theory, Applied Regression Analysis and Categorical Data Analysis. Her research interests are in Bio-Statistics and Regression Analysis. She has also served as a Tutor and the Faculty Admissions Representative. She is a member of the International Biometric Society.

Dr. Makhala is the member of the Department of Statistics and Demography. She has taught a wide range of Statistics courses including introductory courses in statistics, Sampling Theory, Survey Methods and Its Application, Agricultural Statistics, Econometrics, Education Statistics, Experimental Design, Statistical Theory and Inferential Statistics. Her interest is to promote good practices in application of Statistics in any area of research in order to produce information which can be used to inform decision making, policy, and planning in organisations. Her research focus is mainly in Biometry, Biostatistics, Survey Design, application of Linear Models and Diagnostics, Quantile Regression, Mixed Models and Models for Longitudinal Data. She has vast experience in survey design, planning and implementation as well as data analysis and reporting of survey results.

Born on 17 January 1973 in Lesotho, I have taught extensively on statistics and probability theory. My research interest are on · the review and epistemological development of the basic concepts in Statistics and probability theory; · stochastic modelling and applications; · stochastic aging; · Mixture failure rate modelling and applications in heterogeneous populations. A member of Statistical Association of South Africa, University of the Free State Alumina, Machabeng Alumina

In addition to being a lecturer, I am in the final stages of a PhD in Actuarial Science at the University of Pretoria. I have an interest in solving various real-life problems requiring a solid background in Mathematics, Probability and Statistics. Over the years, I have acquired strong analytical skills through a combination of Actuarial Science and Mathematical Statistics degrees. I find the application of Mathematics, Statistics and Probability to practical problems in finance and insurance particularly interesting. My current research is based on the propagation of risk across networks of financial institutions, especially banks and insurance companies, and the development of risk measures that model or predict the incidence of systemic risk or contagion in such systems. In general, my current interests centre around the use of quantitative tools of Probability Theory and Mathematical Statistics to model-building, model testing, and more generally the analysis and interpretation of data. Monte Carlo simulations particularly peak my interest. Subjects I teach in the university are Actuarial Statistics, Industrial Statistics, and Elementary Statistics.