Anna Qabale Duba is a female Kenyan nurse and an epidemiologist known for her work fighting against cultural practices such as female genital mutilation and early marriages.
Duba was born in Torbi, a village in Marsabit County, Kenya. She was the youngest child in a polygamous family of 19 siblings and 3 mothers, of which her mother was the first. [1] At the age of 12, Duba was subjected to female genital mutilation and escaped forced early marriage at age 14. [2] [3] Duba was the only educated child in her family. [3] She attended Kenya Methodist University where she received a bachelor's degree in nursing. She went on to receive an M.S. degree from Moi University in Kenya. [1] In 2016 she was a Mandela Washington Fellows in the United States. [4] She also promotes the development of pastorialist's community in Kenya. [5]
In year 2022, Duba was crowned the first recipient of the Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award [6] [5] and used the funding to support educational options in her village. [7] [2] In year 2019, she won the Global Citizens' People's Choice Award in New York. [1] [4] She was also the former Miss Tourism Kenya. [8]