معرفی
Clara Carvalho serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Policy at ISCTE - University Institute of Lisbon and is an Integrated Researcher at CEI-Iscte (Center for International Studies). She currently directs the PhD Program in African Studies (2024-2026) and previously held leadership roles including Director of the Center for International Studies (2013-2016) and President of AEGIS (Africa-Europe Group for Interdisciplinary Studies, 2015-2019).
- PhD in Social Anthropology (ISCTE-IUL, 1999)
- Postgraduate Studies in Public Policy Evaluation (ISCTE, 2022-2023)
- Bachelor's Degree in Anthropology (Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities - UNL, 1984)
Her research centers on West Africa, particularly Guinea-Bissau, examining development policies through interdisciplinary lenses. Key areas include gender dynamics in health systems, educational access in post-colonial contexts, peacebuilding initiatives, and the intersection of traditional practices with modern healthcare. She employs anthropological methods to analyze how international development frameworks interact with local realities, with special attention to women's roles in community health and education systems.
Recent publications reveal a strong focus on vaccine implementation challenges in Lusophone Africa, gender analysis in educational policy, and decolonial approaches to African Studies. Her work consistently bridges academic research with policy applications, particularly regarding Sustainable Development Goals implementation in Portuguese-speaking African countries.
As Director of the PhD Program in African Studies and through her editorial roles at Cadernos Estudos Africanos (since 2016) and Méthod(e)s journal (since 2015), she shapes academic discourse in African Studies. Her external evaluation roles for FCT (2020-2023) and A3ES (2021) demonstrate institutional recognition of her expertise.
Carvalho leads research teams focused on health policy implementation in Guinea-Bissau and São Tomé and Príncipe, collaborating with GAVI-Vaccine Alliance on vaccination studies. Her CEI-Iscte research group examines development challenges through interdisciplinary frameworks connecting political science, anthropology, and public health.
