Joseph Kamara

Dr. Joseph Kamara is a recognised thought leader, practitioner and scholar of disaster resilience and humanitarian operations with extensive experience in policy and practice. His career spans leadership roles in international humanitarian organisations and policy advocacy, significantly shaping disaster resilience, emergency response, and humanitarian interventions.

He is a Senior Lecturer at James Cook University’s College of Medicine, Dentistry, where he leads postgraduate programs in disaster health and public health in humanitarian emergencies. He designs curricula, spearheads research initiatives, mentors emerging scholars, and fosters national and international collaborations to advance disaster health and resilience. He previously served as an academic advisor, representing the humanitarian sector on Western Sydney University’s Humanitarian and Development Studies program advisory committee (2020–2024). His governance experience includes board memberships in humanitarian organisations.

Dr. Kamara brings over two decades of experience in humanitarian operations and research-driven policy engagement. He actively strengthened humanitarian governance, disaster risk reduction, and public health in emergencies. As Regional Director for Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs at World Vision International (East and Southern Africa), he secured funding, forged strategic partnerships, and influenced international policy. His leadership shaped the international community’s responses to major crises, including the Yellow Fever outbreak in Angola, Cyclone Idai’s devastation in Mozambique, the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in DR Congo, the Horn of Africa’s locust infestation and drought crisis, the Northern Ethiopia and Sudan conflict-induced crises, and the Southern Africa El Niño Emergency Response.

His research portfolio spans disaster resilience, anticipatory action, climate change adaptation, migration and public health. He has secured significant research funding and published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, directly informing global humanitarian policy and practice. He has built a strong network of collaborators across institutions, including Deakin University, ERLHA, Khulna University, Makerere University, Nairobi University, and Western Sydney University. He is committed to bridging research and practice, mentoring and supervising students, and equipping them with real-world expertise in disaster health management and humanitarian response.

Dr. Kamara regularly delivers keynote addresses and participates in high-level policy discussions at international forums. In the past three years, he has addressed the US Congressional Hunger Caucus, AidEx, the Africa Humanitarian Forums, and the European Humanitarian Forum. Global media outlets frequently seek his insights on humanitarian crises and resilience-building strategies.

Dr. Kamara continues to shape the scientific and policy foundations of disaster resilience and foster the development of future leaders in the sector.