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Nawi Ng

Professor

School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Mail
nawi.ng@gu.se
Visiting address
Guldhedsgatan 5 A, plan 3
413 20 Göteborg
Postal address
Box 469
40530 Göteborg

About Nawi Ng

MD, MPH, PhD. Prof. Nawi Ng is Professor of Global Health at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, where he leads the Global and Public Health research group. A medical doctor and epidemiologist by training, he has over two decades of experience in global health research and academic leadership. He has supervised 20 doctoral students and mentored early-career researchers across universities in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and serves on international grant review panels, editorial boards, and scientific advisory committees.

Prior to joining Gothenburg, he worked at Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia (1999–2007), and Umeå University, Sweden, where he held positions as Senior Lecturer (2007–2014), Professor of Epidemiology and Global Health (2015–2019), and Visiting Professor (2019–2024).

Research area

Domains: Global and public health, noncommunicable disease prevention and control, healthy ageing and frailty, mental health and substance use disorders, health inequalities and social determinants of health, health system equity and healthcare access, implementation science and integrated care, pandemic vulnerability and public health response

Methods: Population-based and register-based epidemiology, longitudinal cohort studies, mixed methods research, multilevel and intersectional analysis, survey methodology

Ongoing projects

Prof. Ng currently leads:

  • BRIDGE-CARE (Forte, 2026–2028) — inequalities in care continuity and frailty transitions among older adults in Sweden

  • ENTITLED (Swedish Research Council, 2025–2027) — inequalities in the distribution of common mental disorders and substance use disorders and unmet service needs in Sweden

  • STAR-C (Forte, 2018–2026) — personalised digital coaching for healthy lifestyles

He serves as co-investigator in:

  • CONNECT4HEALTH (Horizon Europe, 2026–2029) — implementation evidence on adapting and sustaining integrated care pathways for NCDs and comorbid mental health conditions in Indonesia, Uganda, Nepal, and Ethiopia

  • INVEST (Swedish Research Council, 2023-2025) — individual and neighbourhood social capital during COVID-19 and its influence on health outcomes and inequalities

Selected completed projects:

  • EMBRACE (Forte, 2022–2025) — intersectional multilevel study of community vulnerability during COVID-19

  • EQUITABLE (Swedish Research Council, 2018–2024) — equitable healthy ageing and healthcare access in Cambodia, in collaboration with the World Health Organization

Prof. Ng has published over 190 peer-reviewed articles in international journals, two book chapters, and two editorials, and has served as editor for one special issue. Please visit Google Scholar and ORCID for a full list of publications and related metrics.

Editorial and advisory roles

Prof. Ng served as Managing Editor (2007–2014) and Chief Editor (2015–2018) of the open-access journal Global Health Action, and currently serves on the Editorial Board of Public Health Challenges.

He was a member of the Scientific Advisory Group of SEACO (Southeast Asia Community Observatory, Malaysia, 2014–2019) and has served on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Sleman Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS), Indonesia, since 2016.

Teaching Responsibilities

Prof. Nawi Ng has supervised 20 PhD students to completion and is currently supervising three ongoing PhD candidates.

At the Master of Global Health Programme, University of Gothenburg:

  • MGH101: Global Health Challenges in an Interdisciplinary Context (15 ECTS) – Teacher

  • MGH102: Epidemiology (15 ECTS) – Teacher

  • MGH311: Applied Epidemiology and Biostatistics (7.5 ECTS) – Course Leader

  • MGH400: Degree Project in Global Health (30 ECTS) – Thesis Supervisor

At the Master of Public Health Science Programme, University of Gothenburg:

  • MPH221: Epidemiology and Biostatistics (15 ECTS) – Course Leader

  • MPH235: Public Health Work (15 ECTS) – Mentor for Interns

  • MPH241: Degree Project in Public Health (30 ECTS) – Thesis Supervisor

Additional Teaching Responsibilities:

At the University of Gothenburg:

  • Course Coordinator for the Global Health course (1.5 ECTS) for the undergraduate medical program since 2025

  • Teacher for the LÄA091: Social Medicine course in the undergraduate medical program.

  • Thesis Supervisor for the LÄA110: Examensarbete course (Degree Project for Undergraduate Medical Students).

  • Teacher in SM00130: The Individual, Health, and the Community (4 ECTS), a PhD course.

At Umeå University:

  • Teacher in the UMU-30509: Global Health (10 ECTS) course, Master of Public Health Programme.

At Karolinska Institute:

  • Teacher in 3GB001: Global Burden of Disease (9 ECTS) course, 2-year Master's Programme in Global Health (2025-)

  • Teacher in 3GB015: Non-communicable Diseases, Injuries, and Emergencies: A Global Health Perspective (3 ECTS) course, 1-year Master's Programme in Global Health (2015-2025).

Latest update: 1 April 2026