Dr Maryse Kok

  • Reader, Clinical Sciences
  • Institute for Resilient Health Systems
  • Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (MLW)
Dr Maryse Kok

Biography

Maryse Kok has been a Reader in Health Systems and Social Sciences at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) since 2024. She is part of the core team of the Institute for Resilient Health Systems. Based in Malawi, Maryse leads the Social Science and Health Systems theme at the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Programme.

Since 2011, working for KIT Institute, Maryse’s research has focused on improving health systems in East and Southern Africa. Maryse made significant contributions in community health systems research. This work aimed at optimising the roles of community health workers, social accountability, and community participation in health. Her research has influenced policy and practice in various African countries, as well as global policy guidance.

Maryse served as a member of the external review group for the World Health Organisation guideline on health policy and system support for community health worker programmes. Since 2023, Maryse has been a member of the World Health Organisation Advisory Group on the global prototype curricula for community health workers. She is also a member of the advisory board of the Community Health Impact Coalition.

Other focus areas of Maryse’s work have been strengthening district health management and workforce performance, scaling-up complex health interventions, and sexual and reproductive health and rights – particularly prevention of child marriage and teenage pregnancy. Maryse has led various multi-country and mixed-methods studies across Africa and Asia, in partnership with governments, international non-governmental organisations and UN agencies – using her experience of working in the government and NGO sector between 2004 and 2011.

 

Research interests

Maryse’s current research focuses on contributing to health systems that can withstand intersecting and concurrent shocks and stressors, such as epidemics, natural disasters, conflict, climate stressors and economic crises. Special attention goes to health systems’ ability to anticipate and prepare for shocks. This requires insights into situational knowledge, actions, relationships and power of actors in the health system. It also requires insights into trust between health system actors, and between them and actors in related systems. The research includes a variety of actors: communities, health workers, managers, policymakers and other stakeholders – they all have a role to play in enhancing resilience. Maryse’s work includes qualitative and participatory research methods to design, evaluate and learn from resilience strategies, particularly at the community and primary health care levels. The goal is resilient and just health systems that improve health outcomes for all.

Maryse is particularly interested in progress to universal health coverage and improved health equity in resource poor settings, including in Malawi where she is based. She is therefore also involved in broader social science and implementation research in Malawi, to ensure that health interventions are responsive to local needs, solution-based and build on local capacity and priorities.

Teaching

Maryse is committed to raising the profile of young research scientists in low- and middle-income countries. She mentors master’s and PhD students, as well as post-doctoral researchers on a variety of research projects in health policy and systems research and social sciences. Maryse’s teaching in master’s programmes focuses on community health, sexual and reproductive health and rights and qualitative research methods. Examples of topics of previous and current PhD students are scale-up of a district-level management strengthening intervention across three African countries, community-level health governance in Kenya, youth perspectives on sexuality education in low- and middle-income countries, and child marriage and female genital mutilation across various contexts in Africa and Asia.

Selected research publications

Costs and cost-effectiveness of community health worker programs on reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health in low- and middle-income countries (2015–2024): A scoping review – Journal: PLOS Global Public Health – Published: 22nd January 2026

Intersecting injustices: child marriage and the law in conflict-affected Sudan – Journal: International Journal for Equity in Health – Published: 27th December 2025

Costs and cost-effectiveness of community health worker programmes focussed on non-communicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries (2015–2024): a scoping literature review – Journal: BMJ Global Health – Published: 10th December 2025

Economic evaluations of community health worker programs focussed on neglected tropical diseases in low- and middle-income countries (2015–2024): A scoping literature review – Journal: PLOS Global Public Health – Published: 5th December 2025

Adolescents’ and young people’s perspectives on school-based sexuality education in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review – Journal: Reproductive Health – Published: 21st October 2025

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