Pranitha Maharaj is a Professor and DST/NRF SARChI Chair in Economic Development at the School of Built Environment and Development Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban. In addition, she is the editor-in-chief of the Southern African Journal of Demography. Prof Maharaj holds a PhD in Population Health and Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She is a prolific writer with more than 60 publications in predominantly peer-reviewed national and interactional journals that transcend disciplinary boundaries in areas broadly related to demography.