Dr Gabriel Pollen

Gabriel Pollen is a distinguished Zambian economist and academic, currently serving as the National Coordinator of the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) under the Office of the Vice President since at least late 2021. With a PhD in Economics from SOAS University of London, he has over 15 years of experience in academia, research, and policy analysis. His career began in 2004 at the Bank of Zambia, followed by a long tenure at the University of Zambia (UNZA) as a lecturer and researcher in the Department of Economics, where he contributed to teaching and curriculum development. Pollen’s academic journey also took him to the University of Huddersfield in the UK, where he lectured part-time and supervised postgraduate work between 2016 and 2017. His research interests center on economics, structural transformation, and development challenges in Zambia, with a focus on trade, economic growth, and the country's copper export dependency.
In addition to his academic contributions, Pollen has worked as a consultant for global organizations like the World Bank and Oxfam International, conducting fieldwork in Zambia and Mozambique. His expertise lies in quantitative data analysis, economic modeling, and policy formulation, which he now applies to disaster management in his DMMU role. Notably, he has managed responses to crises like the 2024 Zambian drought, facilitating maize imports from Tanzania and collaborating with former coordinators to strengthen disaster strategies. Pollen also runs a personal blog discussing economic policy, maintaining that his opinions are independent. His career reflects a blend of intellectual rigor and practical leadership aimed at addressing Zambia’s economic and resilience challenges.