Madison Little

Madison Little has short blonde hair. He is wearing a white shirt, dark tie and blazer. He is standing in front of some grass in a courtyard.
Research Affiliate

Madison Little holds a DPhil (PhD) in Social Intervention & Policy Evaluation from the Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, University of Oxford.

His research examined the effectiveness of interventions to reduce and prevent violence against children, including through packaged cash-plus programmes. In collaboration with the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, he led the research initiative to update the INSPIRE Framework, seven strategies for ending violence against children. This research synthesised together more than 200 systematic reviews and an estimated 3000 primary studies, the largest analysis thus far of what works to protect children from violence. 

Little, M.T., Butchart, A., Massetti, G.M., Hermosilla, S., Wittesaele, C., Pearson, I., Jochim, J., Swingler, S., Schupp, C., Böhret, I.A., Neelakantan, L., Backhaus, S., Martin, M., Mase, M., Page, S., Janowski, R., Blackwell, A., Bernstein, K.T., Rakotomalala, S., & Cluver, L. (2026). Interventions to prevent, reduce, and respond to violence against children and adolescents: A systematic review of systematic reviews to update the INSPIRE Framework. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 10(1), 49-61.   

Little, M.T., Hertzog, L., Rudgard, W.E., Toska, E., Banougnin, B., Yates, R., Chipanta, D., Annor, F.B., Chiang, L., & Cluver, L. (2025). Accelerators to reduce violence, HIV risk, and early pregnancy among adolescents and young people in Namibia: A cross-sectional analysis of the Violence Against Children & Youth Survey. PLOS Global Public Health, 5(5): e0004633.   

Mchenga, M., Maughan-Brown, B., Yates, R., Hertzog, L., Banougnin, B.H., Dzumbunu, S., Little, M.T., Cluver, L., & Toska, E. (2025). Accelerating the prevention of HIV and violence in adolescent girls and young women in Zimbabwe through multi-sectoral programming: Cross-sectional analysis of the 2017 violence against children survey. Global Public Health, 20(1), 2537698. 

Maughan-Brown, B., Banougnin, B.H., Little, M.T., Matsha-Carpentier, N., Mugambi, C., Gichane, H., Cluver, L., & Toska, E. (2025). Tackling the Triple Threat in Kenya: Factors Associated with Protection against HIV Risk, Gender-Based Violence, and Pregnancy among Adolescent Girls and Young Women. AIDS & Behavior, 29, 1738-1746.   

Cuartas, J., Salazar, A., Backhaus, S., Little, M.T., McCoy, D., Yoshikawa, H., Bass, M., Metheny, N., & Knaul, F. (2024). Strategies to prevent violence against children in the home: A systematic review of reviews. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 25(4), 3419-3433. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380241247018  

Hertzog, L., Cluver, L., Banougnin, B.H., Saminathen, M.G., Little, M.T., Mchenga, M., Yates, R., Rudgard, W., Chiang, L., Annor, F.B., Picchetti, V., Massetti, G., Foraci, M., Sanaha, R., & Toska, E. (2024). Social protection as a strategy for HIV prevention, education promotion and child marriage reduction among adolescents: a cross-sectional population-based study in Lesotho. BMC Public Health, 24(1), 1523.   

Little, M.T., Roelen, K., Lange, B.C.L., Steinert, J.I., Yakubovich, A.R., Cluver, L., & Humphreys, D.K. (2021). Effectiveness of cash-plus programmes on early childhood outcomes compared to cash transfers alone: A systematic review and meta-analysis in low- and middle-income countries. PLOS Medicine. 18(9): e1003698.

Nittas, V., Ameli, V., Little, M.T., & Humphreys, D.K. (2020). Exploring the equity impact of mobile health-based human immunodeficiency virus interventions: A systematic review of reviews & evidence synthesis. Digital Health 6, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1177/2055207620942360  

Meinck, F., Pantelic, M., Spreckelsen, T.F., Orza, L., Little, M.T., Nittas, V., Picker, V., Bustamam, A.A., Herrero Romero, R., Diaz Mella, E.P., & Stöckl, H. (2019). Interventions to reduce gender-based violence among young people living with HIV/AIDS in low-income and middle-income countries. AIDS, 33(14), 2219-2236.   

Barchi, F., & Little, M.T. (2016). National ethics guidance in Sub-Saharan Africa on the collection and use of human biological specimens: A systematic review. BMC Medical Ethics, 17(64), 1-25.  Â