Bio

Mussie Sewnet Melesse is a PhD candidate in Development Studies at the Institute for Social Development, University of the Western Cape, South Africa. His doctoral research focuses on food security, livelihood strategies, and the quality of life of refugees in Western Ethiopia. He holds an MSc in Food Security and Development Studies from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. With over two decades of professional experience, Mussie has held senior roles in monitoring, evaluation, and planning across prominent organizations in Ethiopia, including the Ethiopian Red Cross Society, the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences, and the Ethiopian Public Health Institute, and has additionally accumulated substantial experience in healthcare services. He has co-authored publications in peer-reviewed journals, including a 2025 article in Health SA Gesondheid, and his MSc thesis has been published in the Ethiopian Journal of Development Research. He also contributed to the Ethiopian National Food and Nutrition Survey, which informs the Ethiopian National Food and Nutrition Strategy. His doctoral research is conducted under Workstream 3 of the Migration and Food Security in the Global South (MiFOOD) Project. He is a fellow of the DAAD In-Region Scholarship Program starting from 2024.