Caroline Elliot
Caroline Elliot
Health and Behavioural Change Lead
Health and Behavioural Change Lead
MA Development Studies, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex | BA (Hons) Social Science, University of Cape Town
MA Development Studies, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex | BA (Hons) Social Science, University of Cape Town
Caroline is a senior international development leader with nearly twenty years designing and leading large-scale adolescent health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality, education and youth empowerment programmes across Africa. Her expertise spans behaviour change communication and social norms change, education systems strengthening, gender-transformative programming, safeguarding, and policy influence. She led the award-winning Tikambe ("Let’s Talk") adolescent SRHR programme, combining mass media, youth engagement, schools and health systems approaches. Evaluation found participants significantly more likely to understand contraception, discuss HIV and STI prevention, and access youth-friendly services — particularly young women. She also directed the media component of the €25 million EU-funded Natwampane ("Let’s Come Together") programme, working with sixteen radio stations across Northern and Luapula Provinces on social and behaviour change addressing gender inequality and gender-based violence. It reached 84% of the target population, more than a million people, with measurable shifts in attitudes towards women’s rights. Across her career she has overseen programmes reaching more than 3.5 million people annually through mass media and digital channels, and led the expansion of education programming from Zambia into Malawi — growing reach from around 720,000 to more than 1.1 million learners across over 7,000 schools, working through Ministries of Education on gender-responsive teaching, foundational learning and inclusive education. She has held senior roles including Country Director (Interim) at both BBC Media Action Zambia and ActionAid Zambia, and has secured and managed funding from SIDA, FCDO, the EU, UNICEF, and the Gates, LEGO, Co-Impact, Prevail, Hempel and Comic Relief foundations, alongside senior relationships with the Ministry of Education and the Division of Gender. Her background is pan-African: of South African descent, Zimbabwean born and raised, Zambian by residence and Kenyan by marriage. She is not a clinician. Her contribution to Tōtāra is health systems and behavioural change at scale — programme design, donor relationships, monitoring and learning, and policy influence.
Caroline is a senior international development leader with nearly twenty years designing and leading large-scale adolescent health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality, education and youth empowerment programmes across Africa. Her expertise spans behaviour change communication and social norms change, education systems strengthening, gender-transformative programming, safeguarding, and policy influence. She led the award-winning Tikambe ("Let’s Talk") adolescent SRHR programme, combining mass media, youth engagement, schools and health systems approaches. Evaluation found participants significantly more likely to understand contraception, discuss HIV and STI prevention, and access youth-friendly services — particularly young women. She also directed the media component of the €25 million EU-funded Natwampane ("Let’s Come Together") programme, working with sixteen radio stations across Northern and Luapula Provinces on social and behaviour change addressing gender inequality and gender-based violence. It reached 84% of the target population, more than a million people, with measurable shifts in attitudes towards women’s rights. Across her career she has overseen programmes reaching more than 3.5 million people annually through mass media and digital channels, and led the expansion of education programming from Zambia into Malawi — growing reach from around 720,000 to more than 1.1 million learners across over 7,000 schools, working through Ministries of Education on gender-responsive teaching, foundational learning and inclusive education. She has held senior roles including Country Director (Interim) at both BBC Media Action Zambia and ActionAid Zambia, and has secured and managed funding from SIDA, FCDO, the EU, UNICEF, and the Gates, LEGO, Co-Impact, Prevail, Hempel and Comic Relief foundations, alongside senior relationships with the Ministry of Education and the Division of Gender. Her background is pan-African: of South African descent, Zimbabwean born and raised, Zambian by residence and Kenyan by marriage. She is not a clinician. Her contribution to Tōtāra is health systems and behavioural change at scale — programme design, donor relationships, monitoring and learning, and policy influence.