Privacy Policy

1. About This Policy

The Surgical Work and Equity Lab (SWEL) is committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have. It applies to swelafrica.org and all subdomains operated by SWEL.

2. What We Collect

We collect only information you actively provide to us:

• Contact form — name, email address, institutional affiliation, inquiry topic, and message content via our contact page.
• Newsletter signup — email address when you subscribe to receive research updates and think pieces.

We do not collect payment information, sensitive personal data, or information about children under 16. We do not use tracking cookies or analytics services that identify individual visitors, and we do not run advertising on our website.

3. How We Use Your Information

• Responding to your inquiries and partnership requests.
• Sending you newsletters, research updates, and event invitations (only if you have subscribed).
• Improving our website and understanding which content is most useful to readers (aggregate, anonymised metrics only).

We do not sell, trade, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for their own marketing purposes. Any researcher or collaborator you are connected with through SWEL will only receive your information with your explicit consent.

4. Third-Party Services

SWEL uses the following services to operate our website. Each processes data according to its own privacy policy:

• Cloudflare — Hosts our website and may collect technical logs (IP address, browser type) for security and performance. See Cloudflare's privacy policy.
• Sanity.io— Content management system for our blog, learning modules, and partner listings. Content and contributor data are stored on Sanity's infrastructure.
• Luma — Event registration and calendar. When you register for a SWEL event through Luma, Luma collects your name and email. See Luma's privacy policy.
• Mailchimp— Newsletter delivery service. When you subscribe to our mailing list, your email address is stored on Mailchimp's servers. See Mailchimp's privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in every email.
• Google Fonts — We use the Inter typeface served from Google Fonts. Google may collect aggregate usage data. We do not load the Google Fonts tracking script.

5. Cookies

SWEL uses only strictly necessary cookies required for the website to function, such as cookies that maintain your session when using the content management system. We do not deploy tracking cookies, analytics cookies, or advertising cookies, and we do not use any cookie-based tracking technology that would identify individual visitors across sessions or websites.

6. Data Retention

We retain personal information only as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected. Newsletter subscriber lists are retained until you unsubscribe. Contact form submissions are retained for the duration of our engagement with you and for a reasonable period thereafter for record-keeping.

7. International Transfers

SWEL is based in Nairobi, Kenya. Our service providers (Cloudflare, Sanity, Mailchimp, Luma) operate servers in multiple jurisdictions including the United States and the European Union. By using our website, you acknowledge that your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence. We take reasonable steps to ensure that any such transfers are subject to appropriate safeguards.

8. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to:

• Request access to the personal information we hold about you.
• Request correction or deletion of your personal information.
• Withdraw your consent to receive marketing communications at any time.
• Lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us through our contact page.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with a revised date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Material changes will be communicated through our mailing list when appropriate.

10. Contact

If you have questions about this privacy policy, your data, or how it is handled, please contact us through our contact page.