Allison Cantor — hera - right to health and development

Allison R. Cantor, PhD, MA/MPH, CPH - Evaluation Specialist and Medical Anthropologist

Allison is an evaluation specialist and medical anthropologist with expertise in qualitative methods and analysis and participatory approaches to public health research and evaluation.
Allison completed a PhD in Applied Anthropology and a master’s degree in public health at the University of South Florida in 2016, with a focus on maternal nutrition and food insecurity in the context of international development.
She is a dynamic mixed methods researcher and evaluator, with experience in maternal and child health, water and sanitation, reproductive health, and food insecurity and nutrition.
Allison is an experienced leader in interdisciplinary team management, working for academic and non-profit organizations in various roles that include Academic Director and Evaluation Team Lead. Allison is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor of anthropology at New Mexico State University and a research affiliate at the Monteverde Institute in Costa Rica.
She has worked in international development as an evaluation specialist and qualitative methods expert for international humanitarian organizations, community-based non-profits, and other development organizations. As the team lead, Allison evaluated Médecins Sans Frontières’ U.S. Covid-19 intervention across 7 sites, as well as the Primary and Sexual Reproductive Health Intervention in Anzoátegui, Venezuela.
Allison started with hera in 2020 and has contributed to numerous assignments, including an assessment of WHO’s Quality of Care Network, External Validation of UNFPA’s results based financing, and feminist participatory action research with Plan International on gender and climate change in the Sahel region. Allison’s roles have included qualitative methods support, project director, and Sierra Leone mission lead. Allison became an associate in 2023.

The 2nd Milestone Scorecard presents an important roadmap for future action. The insights provided in this data collection round show what’s working and provides crucial insights for shaping policies and health strategies, guiding us towards a future where sexual and reproductive health rights and services are accessible and upheld for all

Enhancing Access to HIV Testing and Treatment: Embracing Community Leadership

On World AIDS Day, we at hera-right to health and development stand together with the global community in the fight against HIV. Embracing this year's theme, "Let Communities Lead," we recognize the transformative impact of community involvement in overcoming the challenges of HIV.

A Comprehensive Review of Mercy Ships’ Surgical Health Project in Liberia

In 2023 hera was selected to undertake a critical review of the "Partnering for Transformational Change: Strengthening Liberia’s Surgical Health System" project. This initiative, implemented by Mercy Ships and funded by Norad, was established against the backdrop of Liberia's challenging healthcare environment, particularly in its surgical health system.

DESIP National Family Planning in Kenya Learning Conference - Nov 27 & 28, 2023

Learning from Crisis: hera's Evaluation of UNICEF's L2 Response to the Uganda Ebola Crisis

Explore hera's comprehensive, learning-focused evaluation of UNICEF's response to the 2022-2023 Ebola crisis in Uganda. Learn how the evaluation aims to inform future public health strategies

Assessing and strengthening community health systems in the Middle East and North Africa region

Evaluating UNICEF’s L2 Emergency Response to the Drought Crisis in Southern Madagascar

UNICEF's Level 2 (L2) emergency response was carried out in collaboration with the National Bureau of Risk and Disaster Management and focused on 10 districts in three priority regions in the South of Madagascar. A hera team was selected to evaluate the L2 response with a dual objective of learning and accountability.

Painting New Horizons: Unveiling hera’s new website, a collaboration with artist Patricia Lourenço

We are pleased to share the launch of our revamped website. This update goes beyond just a fresh "look"; it is the result of a thoughtful collaboration with Portuguese artist, Patricia Lourenço.

hera leads the HISP Consortium, Advancing Health and Social Justice

We are delighted to announce that hera, in steadfast commitment to the values of equity, social justice, and human rights-based development, was recently awarded another four-year contract to lead the consortium for the Knowledge Hub on Health, Socio-Economic Inequalities, and Social Protection (HISP). This follows two similar successful Health Advisory Service contracts that hera implemented between 2014 and 2022.

Advancing Equitable COVID-19 Vaccination in Humanitarian Crisis

The World Health Organization (WHO), taking the lead in responding to this pressing issue, selected hera to conduct a study on the complexities of COVID-19 vaccine deployment and administration in humanitarian settings, with a specific focus on populations of concern (PoC). The study was initiated in March 2022 and concluded in March 2023, and encompassed case studies in multiple countries deeply affected by humanitarian crises: Cox's Bazar (Bangladesh), Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Iraq, South Sudan, and Syria.

Fact sheet on the Maternal Health of Women and Girls of African Descent in the Americas

This fact sheet was developed by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) with the support of a hera team that included Adria Armbrister, Marianne Eelens, and Alejandra Martinez.

Maternal, neonatal, adolescent, sexual and reproductive health in Rwanda

In 2022 hera was selected to support the evaluation of the effectiveness of the Barame project and conducted a knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) study to help identify gaps in community knowledge and utilization of health services related to maternal, neonatal, adolescent, sexual, and reproductive health, as well as providing recommendations for future development of communication and awareness strategies.

Unpacking from the Health Systems Research Symposium (HSR 2022) – Bogotá, Colombia

At the end of October this year, hera’s Director Marieke Devillé, CEO Leen Jille and Project Officer Alice Peschiutta made the trip to attend HSR2022 in Bogota, Colombia. By all accounts, it was an engaging experience and a positive immersion in health systems research.

Gender equality mainstreaming in health evaluations and research workshop #HSR2022

At the Seventh Global Symposium on Health Systems Research (HSR2022)in Bogota, Colombia, hera Director Marieke Devillé, along with Alejandra Martinez presented a participatory workshop on gender-responsive evaluation and research approaches.

Standing up for human rights in solidarity with the women of Iran

As a cooperative company founded on the premise of upholding and fighting for human rights, we condemn the use of physical violence against women and any policy or action contrary to the rights afforded to everyone under the UN Charter of Human Rights and the Vienna Declaration.

Norad Country Evaluation Brief: Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Norwegian agency for development cooperation (Norad) recently published a Country Evaluation Brief on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) prepared by a hera team of researchers.’

International call for artists

We would like to engage an artist, or team of artists, to design, draw, paint or photograph a set of images to be used on our new website and in our reports. This call is open to all artists and all types of approaches, both abstract and figurative and everything in between.

Advancing Service Delivery in Namibia: UNICEF and USAID's Initiatives for Efficient Health Procurement

UNICEF contracted hera to work on supporting and building consensus between the MoF and Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) as well as key partners on practical PFM solutions to improve service delivery in the health sector, ensuring value for money and sustaining service provision for impact.

New partners associates and milestones

We are delighted to announce that three new partners and one associate have joined hera. Each one brings unique expertise and energy, as well as commitment to our mission to work for the right to health and development for all.

Final assessment of the Third-Party Monitoring of the Lebanon Health Programme for Syrian Refugees and Vulnerable Lebanese Population

World Health Day 2022

For World Health Day, April 7th, 2022, we reaffirm our collective commitments to the United Nations Global Compact and Universal Health Coverage and join the WHO in the call for our planet, our health.

Update on the Spotlight Initiative Mid - Term Assessment: Eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls

In October 2020, hera was awarded a two-year contract with UN WOMEN for the Mid-Term Assessment of the Spotlight Initiative, a multi-year initiative between the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN), focused on eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG).

Local production of therapeutic and supplementary food in Zambia

Market assessment of local production of ready to use therapeutic food (RUTF) and ready to use supplementary food (RUSF)

International Women’s Day 2022 - Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow

The theme for International Women’s Day, 8 March 2022 is, “gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”. In our increasingly interconnected world, it seems appropriate to have an intersectional theme encompassing gender and sustainability. For our work in the health and development sector, we know how crucial it is to consider cross-cutting issues and to adopt intersectional standpoints.

Analyzing the Small Islands Developing States Pooled Procurement Program: Assessing Financial Viability and Resource Mobilization

Allison R. Cantor, PhD, MA/MPH, CPH - Evaluation Specialist and Medical Anthropologist

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