Conference Overview

The 2019 REGIONAL Global Health Practitioner Conference on October 14-16 in Nairobi, Kenya is CORE Group’s first regional conference, aims to:

1. Leverage community voices and experiences of frontline health workers, community health workers, community nurses, and other service delivery providers to help identify the kinds and levels of services needed;
2. Link individuals, organizations, governments, United Nations, donors, private sector, and many other key players both inside and outside the community towards addressing social determinants of health and ensuring everyone works together for improved health outcomes and breaking down silos; and
3. Learn about best practices and innovative approaches in community health within national and local health systems, as well as consortium building and technical capacity building with strategic focus for improved community health.

GHPC Kenya will focus on:

1. Enabling stakeholders to share progress and identify solutions to persistent community health challenges;
2. Strengthening the role of community health workers in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and Universal Health Coverage; and
3. Informing global, national and local policies and plans through evidence, success, and adaptive learning.

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Session Speaker Bios

In alphabetical order by last/family name

Sr. Paulin Acayo, Catholic Relief Services East African Regional Office

Carol Ajema, Gender Advisor, Afya Halisi, Jhpiego

Carol Ajema is a Gender Advisor with USAID- Afya Halisi Project specializing in gender in the context of Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health. She provides oversight towards the implementation of gender transformative approaches in the context of family planning and reproductive health, including GBV. She has over 14 years’ experience in undertaking research that has immensely contributed to the development and review of national protocols on management of survivors of sexual violence in Kenya. Carol has also contributed to the development of health sector national data collection protocols, health sector SOPs on management of child and adult survivors of sexual violence, national Multisectoral SOPs and M&E framework for SGBV in Kenya by providing technical expertise. Carol has also contributed to national and international dialogue forums geared towards strengthening prevention and response of SV. 

Danor Ajwang, Program Manager, Young Health Program, Kenya Plan International

Passionate about community development, Danor identifies with organizations whose ethos is to develop marginalized communities through empowering them to overcome preventable health risks, poverty and further suffering. Danor has a degree in Public Health from Kenya and a post-graduate certificate in Project Cycle Management and an Expert Certificate in Monitoring and Evaluation. He is currently pursuing a Masters in Development Studies. Mr. Ajwang is a reliable member of the Association of Public Health Officers Kenya-APHOK. He is also a Senior Associate at African Institute for Children Studies (AICS) responsible for Capacity Building and Public Health and M&E Consulting in Kenya and the region. Danor has led health and development programs in Kenya, Eastern Africa and South East Asia regions for nearly a decade. Currently, he heads the Young Health Program in Kenya. He spearheads an alliance of over 13 CSOs in advocating for better policies and services for prevention and control of NCDs in Kenya. Danor continues to promote healthy lifestyle choices among young people while advocating for improved adolescent-friendly services.

Angella Akolla, Project Officer, AIMH-PLUS, World Vision International

Angella is a distinguished development worker and researcher, with experience spanning over 10 years with international organizations. She has technically supported health project implementation across over 5 districts in Uganda. She currently works with World Vision Uganda on a Project Working towards improving maternal newborn and child health.

 

Doreen Ali, Deputy Director of Preventative Health Services, Ministry of Health Malawi

Doreen Ali is a Clinical Epidemiologist and Biostatistician with a BSc. in Nursing Education, Administration and Community Health Nursing. Doreen is the Deputy Director for Preventative Health Services responsible for the National Community Health Program of the Ministry of Health in Malawi. In this role, she spearheaded the development of Malawi’s first ever National Community Health Strategy to implement community based primary health care to achieve universal health coverage. Doreen also designed the new community community health system which strengthens the link between the three key constituents which are the community, the local government and health system. She is now leading the implementation of Malawi’s National Community Health Strategy where she has led the development of critical guidelines to clarify roles of different cadres of Community Health Workers and community structures.

Eric Angula, Head, Strategy & Partnerships, Global Health Africa, Medtronic Foundation

Eric Angula carries a wealth of international and cross-cultural working experience in commercial sales as well as the Social Impact Business sector. He has over 10 years’ experience in sales, strategy, partnership and business development in both Pharma and medical devices within sub-Saharan Africa. Eric is part of the core team that innovated a human centered design of hypertension and diabetes management model focused on reaching under-served patients in emerging markets. He is passionate about social impact-based business models focused on increasing access to care for under-served patient population.

Pauline Bridget Anyona, Adolescent and Youth SRHR Officer, Organization of Africa Youth Kenya, @paulineanyona86

Pauline Bridget Atieno Anyona, 27 years is an Adolescents and Youth SRHR and health budget advocate working for the Organization of Africa Youth Kenya. She sits at the FP2020’s Youth Advisory Group where she spearheaded the development of the accountability framework for the FP2020 and also sits at the secretariat of the Kenya Adolescents and Youth SRHR/ HIV Network. Pauline is passionate about advocacy for improved delivery of adolescents SRH services and policies, their economic empowerment for achievement of SDGs. She has also taken part in the development of the adolescents and youth friendly services training manual that is set to be used to train service providers in Kenya on provision of adolescent and youth friendly services. Pauline holds a BSc Economics and Statistics degree from Egerton University. 

Winfred Apio, Program Officer SRHR and Gender Equality, Uganda Youth and Adolescents Health Forum, @apiowinnie

Winfred Apio is a gender specialist with over 5 years’ progressive experience in the field of sexual and reproductive health, gender and human rights. She is experienced in psychosocial counseling and development of behaviour change communication tools. Additionally, Winfred has a Masters’ degree in Human Rights and Democratization in Africa from the University of Pretoria and a Bachelor’s degree in Community Psychology from Makerere University.Winfred has worked with both international and local organizations including government agencies. Through her work, she has interacted with the local government in Uganda and has experience in working for the Lagos State government in Nigeria. She is currently working with Uganda Youth and Adolescents Health Forum, where she is the Program Officer for Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights and gender equality.

Sarah Ashraf, Reproductive Health Advisor, Emergencies, Emergency Health and Nutrition, Save the Children

Sarah been working in the humanitarian field for the last 20 years. She has worked for UNFPA and WHO in the past and joined Save the Children 2004 in Darfur, Sudan. Since then Sarah has been working for Save the Children in various capacities. During this time, Sarah has deployed and worked in various emergencies including typhoon in Philippines in 2009, the earthquake first and then Cholera outbreak in Haiti, Libya emergency, Yemen and others. Sarah provides technical support to emergency health programs in Yemen and Pakistan with specific focus on reproductive health in emergencies. She has also been doing research in protracted humanitarian situations and works on health system strengthening in fragile settings. Sarah has a Master of Public Health and a post-graduate diploma in humanitarian assistance.

Madeleine Ballard, Executive Director, Community Health Impact Coalition, @DrMBallard | @CHW_impact

Dr. Madeleine Ballard is the Executive Director of the Community Health Impact Coalition and an Assistant Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She holds a PhD in evaluation science (EBSI) from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and was previously the founding Program Manager at Last Mile Health. She currently conducts research on the effects of interventions to improve the performance of CHWs and works with the Coalition to catalyze the adoption of high-impact community health systems design.

Madeleine Beebe, Institutional Partnerships Manager, Muso, @MusoHealth 

Madeleine Beebe, BA, RN, MPH, is Muso’s Institutional Partnerships Manager. Based in Bamako, she has a background in clinical nursing, maternal health program design, and qualitative research. Madeleine currently works closely with the Malian government and other institutional partners to translate evidence around high-impact CHW-led health system design into policy and practice in Mali.

Magnus Conteh, Executive Director, Community Health Academy

Magnus Conteh currently serves as the Executive Director to the Community Health Academy. Under Magnus’s leadership and through multiple partnerships across three continents, the Academy will help governments transform community health education and build capacity in health systems leadership. Previously, Magnus worked for seven years at World Vision Ireland, including as the Deputy CEO/Director of Programmes and Strategy. Notably, he led World Vision’s involvement in the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen Ebola Vaccine trial in Sierra Leone, which included overseeing the deployment of technology critical for the clinical trial.

Dr. Lola Dare, Chief Executive Officer and Secretary of the Governing Council, CHESTRAD

Dr. Lola Dare is the Chief Executive Officer and Secretary of the Governing Council. Dr. Lola Dare is a community physician and epidemiologist. She graduated MB;BS from the College of Medicine University of Ibadan in June 1985; obtained Masters of Science degree in Epidemiology (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) in 1991; awarded certificates in Population and Development and International Health as David E. Bell and Takemi Fellow of the Harvard School of Public Health, USA in 1994 and 2000 respectively. Dr. Dare is a member of the West African Postgraduate Medical College in the Faculty of Public Health (1990) and a fellow of the Nigerian National Postgraduate Medical College in the Faculty of Community Medicine (1992).

Tom Davis Jr., Global Sector Lead, Sustainable Health & Nutrition, World Vision International

Tom Davis, MPH, is currently the Global Sector Lead for Sustainable Health for World Vision International. He has more than 35 years of domestic and international field experience in planning, implementing, and evaluating MCHN and education programs, and SBC activities, in food security, child survival, nutrition, HIV and other projects in 27 countries. He was the 2018 recipient of the Dory Storms Child Survival Recognition Award, and the 2012 recipient of the APHA Gordon Wyon Award for Excellence in Community-oriented Public Health, Epidemiology and Practice. He was the original developer of the Barrier Analysis methodology and the Education Cascade Group model.

Midina Doko, Department of Health, County Government of Marsabit, Ministry of Health Kenya

Denge Galgallo

Sr. Rose Nancy Ghati

Angela Gichaga, Chief Executive Officer, Financing Alliance for Health, @AngelaGichaga

Dr. Angela Gichaga is the CEO of Financing Alliance for Health, a multi-organization and multi-sectoral initiative serving MOHs and Ministries of Finance globally, in building resilient and sustainably financed primary and community health systems. She holds a Bachelor in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Nairobi and a Master in Health Economics and Policy from the University of Adelaide, Australia. She is an ICF  and AoEC accredited executive coach, a global health practitioner and economist who has served as a frontline clinician, health administrator, policy maker, academic and consultant. Angela notably worked for the MOH Kenya (as a District Medical Officer of Health and Health Economist), and the McKinsey & Company’s Africa Delivery Hub, before taking her current post in 2017. Angela received the Australian Leadership Awards for Africa in 2012 and the President Obama’s Mandela Washington Fellowship in 2014. She was also named one of Fortune’s World’s Greatest Leaders in 2018 and an Archbishop Tutu Leadership fellow in 2019.

Michael Gichangi, Head of Ophthalmic Services, Ministry of Health Kenya

Dr. Michael Gichangi is the Head of Ophthalmic Services at Ministry of Health- Kenya where he provides national policy direction for eye care. He holds Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery and Master of Medicine(Ophthalmology) from University of Nairobi. He obtained Master of Science in Public Health for Eye Care from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He has vast experience. spanning from Clinical Ophthalmology to Public Eye Health and Policy. He is currently a fellow in Global Health Leadership with Afya Bora Consortium attached to Amref Health Africa, focusing on eye health policy issues.

Innocent Grant, Youth Leader and Clinician on Reproductive Health Promotion, Contraceptive Conversation

Innocent Grant is a 22-year-old Tanzanian youth leader, trainer, public speaker and a clinician with special competence in managing digital media for reproductive health promotion, with proven experience in founding and managing a project called “Contraceptive Conversation”. Innocent also created and currently running a project called “Her story is my story” so as to promote the youth needs on contraception and sexual health in Tanzania. He is a former International Citizen Service Volunteers with Voluntary Service Overseas in Tanzania. Later, Innocent assisted SH:24 (Sexual health 24 hours) in designing the new digital tool for reproductive health information in Nairobi. He has been a youth speaker at two major global conferences, the 2018 International Conference on Family Planning in Kigali, Rwanda, and the 2019 Women Deliver Conference in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Adam Haliq, Catholic Relief Services Ghana

Dr. Salim Hussein, Head, Department of Primary Health Care, Ministry of Health Kenya

Dr. Salim Hussein is a public health practitioner in the Ministry of Health Kenya. With a passion for Public Health System strengthening, especially in Community Health system strengthening. Currently Head of Department, Primary Health Care in Kenya. Was Head of the Department of Community Health services and Health Promotion for 6 and 5 years respectively. Prior to that Dr. Salim served as the Deputy Head for 4 years. Has worked as a District Medical Officer for 4 years in charge of various Districts, in Kenya. Trained at University of Nairobi: Undergraduate MB ChB, leading high performing healthcare organizations (LeHHO): Strathmore University and Executive Hospital Management at United State International University, Nairobi.

Tamara Jonsson, SRHR Program Officer, HIVOS Regional SRHR Fund

Tamara Jonsson is the SRHR Program Officer at the Hivos Regional SRHR Fund. Born to a Zambian mother and Swedish father, and having grown up in different African countries she has always been passionate about development in Africa. In her current role with Hivos she works to improve knowledge sharing, networking and data collection on ASRHR issues in Eastern and Southern Africa by youth-led and/or youth-focused organisations. Tamara has worked in the private sector, civil society, public sector and with catalytic philanthropy, in the areas of migration, policy, advocacy, research and analysis, strategy and project management. Prior to joining Hivos, she worked for the UNAIDS Country Office in Zimbabwe where she worked on supporting HIV programming, policy and advocacy for young people and key affected populations.

Mercy Juma, Journalist, BBC Africa

Mercy Juma is an award winning broadcast journalist at BBC Africa, based in Nairobi, Kenya. She is a passionate storyteller, who reports on vital health and science issues from maternal and child health, to sexual and reproductive health and the environment. She previously worked as Senior Broadcast Journalist at NTV, and Features Writer for the Daily Nation at Nation Media Group, Kenya. In 2015, she was among the four Dag Hammarskjold U.N. Fellows worldwide selected to cover the U.N. General Assembly in New York, where she reported on the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals. Mercy Juma was the first recipient of the Michael Elliott Award for Excellence in African Storytelling.

Francis Kalusa, Program Manager, Sightsavers Zambia

Francis Kalusa is a Social Development practitioner and an advocate for Human Rights. He worked in a number of organisations namely the Frankfurt Zoological Society as Community Extension Officer supporting the Community Based Natural Resources Management; he worked as a Program Coordinator for the Women Empowered to fight Aids and Violence Everywhere that positively influenced the economic well-being of the women in Mpika through village saving groups formed. Before joining Sightsavers, Francis worked as Community Mobilisation Officer under Plan International in the area of educational support piloting the Read to Succeed Project funded by USAID. Currently, Francis works as a Programme Manager for Sightsavers supporting Health, education and Social Inclusion Programmes. Francis holds a BA in Development Studies followed by a Msc in Peace, leadership and Conflict Resolution, with a demonstrated vest in Leadership, Management and Social Development Skills contributing to the strategic initiatives adopted and contributing to social development.

Hon. Sicily Kariuki, Cabinet Secretary for Health, Ministry of Health Kenya

Hon. Sicily Kariuki has been serving as the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Kenya Ministry of Health since 2018. Previously, she served as the Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs. In her capacity as minister, Kariuki was appointed by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to serve on the Independent High-level Commission on Non-Communicable Diseases from 2018 to 2019. Prior to beginning her political career, she had a wide-ranging career in the business world including serving as the Managing Director and CEO of the Tea Board of Kenya.

Robinson Karuga, Research Fellow, USAID-SQALE, LVCT Health, @RobinKaruga

Robinson Karuga is a public health professional with a passion for Implementation Science and Health Systems Research. Robinson’s research interests are in community health systems. Specifically, governance and quality improvement (QI). Robinson has participated in the design and delivery of implementation science research that aims to embed QI approaches in the delivery of community health services in Kenya. The most recent study involved design of a quality improvement intervention that involved development of a QI curriculum for community health, establishment of community and sub-national level QI teams and coaching of QI teams. Robinson has made substantial contributions in building the capacity of community members on how to exact accountability in delivery of health services using citizen score cards marginalized parts of Kenya. He is a Research Fellow at LVCT Health and is a doctoral candidate at The Amsterdam Vrije Universiteit. Robinson is an alumni of the Emerging Voices Program.

Nelson Keyonzo, ExpandNet

Marloes Kibacha, Co-Founder and Operations Director, Africa Health Business Ltd.

Marloes Kibucha is a Co-Founder and the Operations Director of Africa Health Business Ltd. (AHB), an African based healthcare advisory and consulting firm, established to increase the access and affordability of healthcare for all in Africa, with a focus on private health sector strengthening. Within AHB she is responsible for the operations of the company, leading and capacity building of the team and the overall project/program management and development. Marloes has over 10 years’ experience in providing technical advisory and consulting services in multiple projects aimed at strengthening the development of the African (private) healthcare sector. Besides her role at AHB, Marloes is the founder and board member of Imarika Initiative, a small-scale community program that supports mentally disabled children and their families in Mukuru Slum, Nairobi. Marloes holds an MA in Public Administration and Organizational Science and BSc in Cultural Anthropology and Sociology of non-Western Societies, both from Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

Nicholas Kiprono, Community Health Volunteer & Chairperson, ENRICH Project, Sego Community Health Unit

Nicholas Kiprono is a resident of Kapkobil village in Kapsogom sub-location in Keiyo south sub-county of Elgeyo Marakwet county. He completed his O-level in 2000 and holds a certificate in Basic Computer Applications from Eldama Ravine College. Nicholas worked as a youth volunteer with Child Fund Kenya for 3 years before joining the Sego community health unit (one of the community health units supported by the World Vision ENRICH Project) where he acts as the chairperson since 2016. In his current role, Nicholas enjoys serving his community together with 20 community health volunteers. He is also chairperson to Soy North Citizen Voice and Action Team trained by ENRICH to advocate for Maternal, Child Health and Nutrition, Gender based and sexual reproductive health among other issues affecting their ward.

Christine Kisia, National Health Promotion and HIV Prevention Officer, WHO Kenya

Dr. Christine Kisia is a Medical Doctor and a Public Health Specialist with eighteen years’ experience in the health sector, working in different capacities within the Ministry of health as a clinician and the UN on technical cooperation, health policy formulation, and programme planning. Dr. Kisia is currently the National Health Promotion and HIV Prevention Officer at WHO Country Office in Kenya. A position she has held since 2009. She has contributed greatly in both the health promotion and HIV/AIDS fields and has been instrumental in the development, implementation and monitoring of key national policy and strategic documents in both these areas. She has worked closely with the MOH and other partners in development of key national health promotion and Community Health strategic guidelines and tools, and has been instrumental in scale up of innovative approaches in both of these areas.

Josh Kraus, Manager, Health Strategy, Accenture

Josh Kraus is a Manager in Accenture’s Health Strategy practice. He has deep experience in growth, innovation, and driving transformation across the healthcare industry. More recently, Josh has focused his time on care model transformation, and leveraging advanced digital and technological capabilities, such as artificial intelligence, to help organizations unlock new value. He has worked with clients across the ecosystem, including large health systems, payers, and life science companies, as well as helping non-traditional companies seeking to enter and disrupt the health industry. Josh has worked across the US and has also led projects and conducted business development in Africa and Southeast Asia. Prior to joining Accenture, Josh worked with Epic, a leading vendor of electronic medical records (EMR), where he led implementation and consulting efforts for large multi-hospital systems. Josh holds an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business with a concentration in Strategy and a B.A. in Political Science from Emory University.

Meghan Kumar, Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Officer, USAID SQALE, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, @Kumeghan

Meghan is a global health professional with expertise in health economics, policy analysis, and capacity development on four continents. She is currently working in monitoring and evaluation for public health implementation research with the Rollins School at Emory University. Most recently, she has honed her skills in cultivating strategic collaborations between governments and other stakeholders to drive high-quality, equitable delivery of community healthcare as the Research Manager of the REACHOUT Consortium. She led the monitoring, evaluation and learning agenda for USAID-SQALE and is also pursuing a PhD in international public health and health economics. Meghan has managed a five-year multi-country mixed methods action research project around quality of care in community health programs cross Africa and Asia. Meghan has been a freelance consultant working on public health issues that affect the region of sub-Saharan Africa, including: community health and task-shifting, malaria drug markets, and the role of the private sector.

Crystal Lander, Director of Advocacy, Living Goods

Crystal Lander is a senior public health professional who launched the advocacy and global policy portfolios for two global non-governmental organizations. As the Director of Advocacy for Living Goods, she manages engagement on global health policy to drive the organization’s vision for lasting and systemic impact that will enable every family to access quality health care in the community in which they live. Prior to Living Goods, Ms. Lander led the advocacy unit at Management Sciences for Health (MSH) for more than seven years. Ms. Lander is a graduate of the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and Economics and a Master of Public Health from Tulane’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine with a degree in International Health Policy.

Judy Macharia, Senior Public Health Officer, Community Health Strategy Focal Person and County Health Management Team, Nairobi County, Ministry of Health Kenya

Judy Macharia is a social scientist with 25 years of experience working with the Kenyan Ministry of Health. Currently, she serves as a Senior Public Health Officer and acts as the Community Health Strategy Focal Person. She is also part of the County Health Management Team for Nairobi County. A graduate from Kenyatta University with a Master of Science in Health Management, she also has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology and Communication from the University of Nairobi and is a public health trained personnel from Kenya Medical Training College. Her passion is to be part of the team that will ensure sustained improvement of health and well-being of all Kenyans.

Eunice Wandia Mailu, Regional Research Advisor, East, Central & Southern Africa, Sightsavers Kenya

Eunice Wandia Mailu is the Regional Research advisor, East, Central and Southern Africa (ECSA) at Sightsavers, an international organization that works with governments around the world to prevent sight loss and avoidable blindness and to promote equal opportunities for people with disabilities. Ms Eunice Mailu provides technical support on evidence generation and use to ensure all programs in the region are designed based on sound and quality evidence. Ms. Eunice Mailu whose research experience spans to 12 years, holds two masters degrees: an MPH specializing in epidemiology and population health, and MA in project planning and management. Ms Eunice Mailu also holds several other trainings and has published in peer review journals. She is a wife and mother of two children; a boy and a girl.

Dr. Edwin Mbugua Maina, Health and Nutrition Coordinator, Concern Worldwide

Edwin is a Public Health Specialist with over 10 years of experience in the area of MNCH and Nutrition. He is the health and nutrition coordinator at Concern Worldwide Kenya. The program is implemented in various ASAL and urban counties with a focus on health system strengthening, community resilience and advocacy. He also has several years of technical expertise in social entrepreneurship, innovative design thinking and medical device development. He is a seasoned manager with a well-developed understanding of national and global health content, trends and intervention strategies and implementation. He also has a strong record of successful policy guidance especially in MNCH as evidenced by studies, publications and policy guidelines.

Felix Makasanda, Community Engagement Specialist, Amref Health Africa

Felix Makasanda is Community Engagement Specialist with practical field experience in FP/RMNCAH, Nutrition, Gender-based violence, social protection (Child Protection, OVCs, Street Children etc.) economic empowerment, sexual and reproductive health and rights, health systems strengthening and Social Behavior Change Interventions (SBCI), voice and accountability, technical assistance (TA) to government, partners. Proven thought leadership, in ensuring availability and utilization of RMNCAH services including family planning in the health facilities and communities amidst diverse cultural settings. Expertise in development and dissemination of culturally acceptable messages and IEC materials regarding family planning/Birth spacing. Working with community structures including custodians of culture, Community units, Community leaders, Birth spacing champions, youth champions and policy makers to ensure buy in and adoption of life saving approaches to maternal and child health challenges including family planning.

Patrick Malachi, Micro-Justice Kenya

Patrick Malachi is a CHW involved in Micro Justice Kenya, a project funded and led by Comic Relief, in partnership with Amref Health Africa. He holds a diploma in Industrial and Analytical Chemistry, and in his current role with Micro Justice, he specializes in integrated community case management. Patrick is always looking for opportunities to grow his set of skills and gain experience. He also has extended experience and knowledge in community health work especially in data collection and community member mobilization. 

Mwivano Malimbwi, ENRICH Manager, World Vision Tanzania

Mwivano Malimbwi is a clinician and nutritionist. She is now working as project manager in enhancing nutrition services to improve maternal and child health (ENRICH). Her 12 years work experience was mostly based in project management in maternal, new born and child health projects in rural areas of Tanzania. Mwivano is an expert in facility and community based intervention project planning, strategic planning, health management information systems and other interventions focused in health system strengthening strengthening. She is currently a member of MOHCDGEC task force to improve CHWs programming in Tanzania.

Loice Maluki, Program Officer, Disability Training for Community Leaders, Kuhenza for the Children Foundation  

Loice Maluki is a Project Officer for Kuhenza for the Children, an organization that improves quality of life for more than 40,000 children with disabilities each year. As a Project Officer, Loice manages the Kuhenza’s child sponsorship program, assesses and monitors children with disabilities, connects children with special needs schools and hospitals, and facilitates disability trainings for families and community leaders. Loice has always had a heart for people with disabilities and believes the church is key to improving the culture around disabilities in Kenya. Loice holds certificates in Primary Education, Secondary Education, Computer Maintenance, and Computer Software. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion and a Master’s degree in Religious Studies. Loice is also the lead researcher and author of “Christian Response to Challenges Faced by Children with Disabilities” a journal article that was published in the Kabarak Journal of Research & Innovation in 2019.

Bethany Marron, Nutrition Advisor, RISE Project, International Rescue Committee

Bethany is a Nutrition Advisor at the International Rescue Committee (IRC), where she provides global technical support to nutrition program and, for the past 3 years, has led various research initiatives focused on the simplification of acute malnutrition treatment. She is a co-investigator on the Combined Protocol for Acute Malnutrition Study (ComPAS) and currently leads work on the integration of nutrition into integrated community case management through the RISE project. Bethany holds an MSc in Nutrition from Tufts University. 

Ados May, Senior Technical Advisor, WHO IBP Initiative

Ados is a Senior Technical Advisor for the IBP Consortium. In that role, Ados provides technical leadership to the IBP Secretariat. In addition, Ados engages and mobilizes the consortium members on a variety of issues such as documenting effective practices in family planning, dissemination and mapping of high-impact practices (HIPs), and knowledge management. He has 20 years of experience in international public health program design, technical assistance and management.

Julius Mbeya, Managing Director, Lwala Community Alliance, @jmbeya | @LwalaCommunity

As Managing Director at Lwala Community Alliance, Julius works with communities in Kenya to catalyze their own change through innovative programming that is moving to scale. Prior to Lwala, he was a Training & Development Advisor offering capacity support across the ActionAid Federation spanning 45 countries. He also worked for the United Nations Development Programme in Kenya and for the World Bank-funded Kenya Agricultural Productivity Project. Julius has an MA in political science and public administration from the University of Nairobi, a post-graduate diploma in healthcare management from the Kenya Institute of Management, and a post-graduate diploma in peacebuilding and conflict resolution from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.

Gitau Mburu,  Advisor, Fertility RHR, WHO

Dr. Gitau Mburu is an advisor at WHO Department of Reproductive Health and Research, supporting the department’s work on fertility. Previously he worked at theInternational HIV AIDS Alliance and PSI.

Linda Mdhune, ENRICH Manager, World Vision Kenya

Linda Mdhune is the ENRICH Project Manager based in Elgeyo Marakwet County. Linda is a community facilitator who coordinates low cost high impact activities that target the most vulnerable communities with the aim of improving Maternal Child Health and Nutrition. She has gathered a wealth of experience in nearly a decade working with communities in Turkana, Marsabit, West Pokot and Elgeyo Marakwet. Walking closely with the community and establishing strong partnerships with relevant stakeholders has positively contributed to realizing sustainable interventions. Linda holds a Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from Kenyatta University, and certificates in Project management and social accountability and advocacy.

Dr. Sahra Mohamed, Ministry of Health Kenya

Lebohang Patricia Mothae, Executive Director, Christian Health Association of Lesotho

Lebohang Patricia Mothae, who holds a master’s degree in Public Management (MPub), is Executive Director of Christian Health Association of Lesotho (CHAL), a network of church-owned health facilities that account for 40% of Lesotho’s health care. She is also the Vice Chair of the Africa Christian Health Association Platform and the Southern Africa representative. She has been involved in academia at the University of the Free State in South Africa and Limkonkwing University of Technology in Lesotho for about 7 years where she lectured in the areas of Public and Municipal Administration and management, Public Policy, Public Finance Management and Human Resources Management. She has also engaged in research and published in accredited journals as well as contributed a chapter in a book addressing governance and leadership, public policy and public service delivery and local governance and development. She also serves as member in National Drug Supply Council, Intercountry Coordinating Committee overseeing the national Extended Program of Immunization (EPI), Solidarmed Lesotho, and National Health Research Ethics Committee.

Irene Mugo, Health and Nutrition Advisor, Food for the Hungry Kenya

Irene Mugo has a Bsc in Foods, Nutrition and Dietetics and Masters in Public health (Monitoring and Evaluation) from Egerton and Kenyatta Universities. She has 10 years of experience in consultancy and humanitarian work with a special focus on nutrition in development and emergency situations, proposal development, grants management, capacity development and facilitation, nutrition costing, research and monitoring and evaluation. She has worked with Trends Development consultants, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), International Medical Corps and FH Kenya. She is currently working as a Health and Nutrition Advisor for FH Kenya.

Andrew Mulwa,  Chair, County Executive Committee Members for Health, Makueni County Health Services

Dr. Mulwa is the Chair of the County Executive Committee Members for Health Forum. He has served as Makueni County Executive Responsible for Health Services since 2013. As the CEC for health in Makueni, he has overseen an admirable improvement of health systems, the hallmark being establishment of Makuenicare, a county based UHC program. Under his leadership, Makueni County was awarded the Best Managed County Healthcare in the recent Kenya Healthcare Quality Awards. Dr. Mulwa holds an MBChB degree from the University of Nairobi and is currently an MSc student in Strategic Management at JKUAT. He is a Trainer of Trainers in various aspects of health service delivery. He has attended a senior international management course on decentralization offered at Harvard School of Public Health. He was a pioneer graduate of an executive course offered by the University of Edinburgh/World Bank in New Delhi, India. He is married and blessed with three children.

Janet Muriuki, IntraHealth

Wangui Muthigani, Ministry of Health Kenya

Gianaphina Mwende, Community Health Volunteer, Makueni County Health Services

Gianaphina Mwende Nguta is a Community Health Volunteer (CHV) from Illatu, Makindu, Makueni County. She has been a CHV for 8 years. She is a subsistence farmer, a wife and mother of 3 boys and also cares for 2 orphans. Gianaphina is passionate about the health of her community, working tirelessly to enlighten them about healthy living, management of long-life diseases and giving hope. This commitment saw her purchase a motorcycle for ease of travel when visiting her households, and sometimes to transfer patients to the health facility. She rides the motorcycle herself!

Patrick Mwesigye, Team Leader and Chief Executive Officer, Uganda Youth and Adolescents Health Forum, @patsewa

Patrick Mwesigye is a dynamic youth leader and the founder and currently CEO of Uganda Youth and Adolescents Health Forum -UYAHF.Patrick has 6 years of experience working in the field ofpublic health, gender equality and human rights both at community, national and global level. Through UYAHF, he has been able to advance quality health and well-being of young people and challenge sexual and gender based violence through mobilising and amplifying voices of adolescent girls and young women to live quality lives with equity, dignity and opportunities to realize their full potential.Patrick has mobilised young people to influence and shape health policy, programming and decisions making at country level. He seats on the National Adolescent Health Technical working group and he is also the former board member (alternate) for the Partnership for Maternal Newborn and Child Health.

Teddy Nakyanzi,  Project Officer, AIMH-PLUS, World Vision International

Teddy Nakyanzi is a Nutritionist and Public Health Specialist. Teddy has a Bsc. Degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics, a Master’s Degree in Public Health with a postgraduate certificate in project planning and management. She has over 6 years working experience in the field of Nutrition and Health programming. Teddy has great interest and passion in working to enhance health service delivery.

Dr. Diana Nambatya, Deputy Country Director, Living Goods Uganda

Prof. Diana Nambatya is a Ugandan public health specialist with nearly 15 years of experience in RMNCH and health systems strengthening in Sub-Saharan Africa. She worked at the Regional Economic Communities of the African Union and coordinated the Eastern Africa Reproductive Health Network. Prof. Nambatya was also part of the team at Partners in Population and Development Africa Regional Office that reinvigorated the Western Africa Reproductive Health Network (WARHN) and Southern Africa Reproductive Health Network (SARHN). Prior to joining Living Goods as Uganda’s Deputy Country Director, she worked at Global Health Corps as a Country Manager. Prof. Nambatya holds a PhD in Public Health and has won a number of leadership awards including the 2017 Women Champion Award, 2016 American Express Ngen Leadership Award, and 2015 Urban Farmer Award. She has served as an Honorary Associate Professor at Makerere University as part of her community service. Prof. Nambatya is passionate about advancing primary health care towards Universal Health Coverage at the national, regional, and global levels. She is currently a member of the WHO/UHC Social Protection Network.

Charity Ndwiga, Population Council

Allyson Nelson, D-Tree International

Margaret Nguhi, Humanity & Inclusion Kenya

Angela Nguku, White Ribbon Alliance Kenya

Dr. Carol Ngunu-Gituathi, Nairobi City County Government

Nyawira Njeru, Director, Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa, BD Global Health

Nyawira Njeru is a market development market access professional, currently serving as the Director, Global Health, at BD. She provides leadership for BD’s Global Health initiatives in emerging and developing countries in Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa. Her responsibilities include external engagements with ministries of health, international agencies and non-government organizations, professional associations and other stakeholders, leading public private partnerships in support of programs that advance equitable access to health.

Rose Njiraini, Community Health Specialist, UNICEF

James Njiru, Nutrition Technical Specialist, Save the Children

James Njiru Kanyuira is a Public Health Nutrition Epidemiologist with experience spanning over 13 years of managing nutrition and health programs. He has good competencies in program development, implementation science, strategy & policy development and nutritional assessments. He has wide experience in nutrition assessments (IPC analysis, SMART, SQUEAC/SLEAC, Knowledge Practice & coverage), evaluations, health systems strengthening. James is currently working for Save the Children as Nutrition Technical Specialist.  He previously worked for Action Against Hunger (ACF) (2014-2019) and Ministry of Health (2005-2013). He is currently coordinating ICCM implementation research and the mother-led MUAC scale up. James holds a MSc degree in Applied Human Nutrition and BSc in Food Science, Nutrition and Technology from University of Nairobi and currently taking his PhD studies at UON.

Billy Njoroge, IntraHealth

Esther Njoroge-Muriithi, Vice President and Regional Director, Africa, Smile Train

Dr. Esther Njoroge-Muriithi is the Vice President and Regional Director, Africa at Smile Train, an international organization that empowers local medical professionals with training, funding, and resources to provide free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children globally. We advance a sustainable solution and scalable global health model for cleft treatment, drastically improving children’s lives, including their ability to eat, breathe, speak, and ultimately thrive. Dr. Esther Joined Smile Train in 2008 as a volunteer and has worked her way up the ranks. During her tenure the programs have grown in number and scale, spanning 34 countries. A Medical doctor, she holds an MPH specializing in Health Systems Management. She is also a qualified accountant (ACCA) and holds several other trainings. A recipient of Business Daily Africa’s Top 40 Under 40 women in 2016. She is a Rotarian, wife and mother of three.

Leah Nyambura, Acting Project Manager, Implementation Research on Linking Nutrition to ICCM, Action Against Hunger Kenya

Leah Nyambura is a registered Nutritionist with more than 5 years’ experience in clinical Nutrition, Community program implementation and research. She received her Bachelor’s degree in nutrition and Dietetics in Kenyatta University and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Nutrition and Dietetics. She has vast experience in Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition, having worked with the Ministry of Health in Isiolo County Referral Hospital and volunteered in Mbagathi and Voi Level 4 Hospitals. She also possesses valuable program coordination and research skills acquired during her work with Amref Health International and Action Against Hunger Kenya. Leah is currently acting project manager for implementation research project on Linking Nutrition to Integrated Community Case Management being conducted in Isiolo County, Kenya.

Walter Odoch, Manager, Health Systems and Capacity Development, ECSA-HC

Dr. Walter Odoch is a Health Policy Specialist, with interest in health system financing, application of economic principles in health, health system strengthening and health system performance measures.

Michael Odong, Social & Behavior Change Advisor, USAID RHITES-N, Lango Project, John Snow Inc.

Michael is an experienced program management and social behaviour change specialist in both development and emergencies. He began his career as a dentist and later made a change and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Community Psychology. He then obtained a Master in Public Health-International Health and Development.Michael has been working in the development and humanitarian field for over 14 years, has collaborated with international organisations like Save the Children, International Medical Corps, John Snow, Inc (JSI), UNFPA.Known for his strong commitment for social justice, Michael believes in improving the quality of the lives of refugees, women and children, and people affected by disaster. Sectors of his expertise include emergency management, Gender Based Violence in Emergencies, WASH, Health and Nutrition, and Communication for Development (C4D) in Emergencies. Michael is highly skilled in participatory approaches and program design, is a flexible team player and easily adapts to new environment.

Paul Odongo, Peer Educator, Young Health Program, Plan International

Paul Odongo is a peer educator under Young Health Program Kenya. He is a student of Technical University of Kenya undertaking Geospatial Engineering but also has passion to talk to fellow young people on NCD prevention in the community of Kibra. Paul has represented Young Health Program Kenya in One Young World in Bogota, Colombia.

Linet Okoth, Senior Technical Advisor, Community Health, USAID SQALE, LVCT Health, @Linetokoth2

Linet Okoth is a Senior Technical Advisor, community Health at LVCT Health, who provides technical oversight to community health programs. She has vast experience in policy engagement at National, County, Sub-county and community levels and provides leadership, direction and technical oversight to the USAID SQALE program which focusses on implementation of Quality Improvement at community level.She is a Clinical Officer with a Degree in Psychology and is currently pursuing an MSc in Global Health. She has over 10 years’ experience in HIV/AIDS, TB/HIV, Nutrition, reproductive health, family planning, malaria, maternal, newborn and child health programming. She is passionate about making the voice of the community members heard and involved in decision-making. She is a member of Kenya’s national QI, Community Health and RMNCAH technical working groups and has contributed to the development of national Quality Improvement guidelines and training materials.

Elizabeth Omondi, Project Assistant, Amref Health Africa

Elizabeth Omondi is a nurse mentor with Amref health Africa in Kenya; under the project Canada Africa initiative address maternal neonatal and child mortalities (CAIA-MNCM) a regional project implemented in Siaya County, with a focus of building the skills of health care workers to manage obstetric emergencies using superior capacity building models. Together with county health teams and sub-county health management teams, we provided mentorships sessions and supported quality improvements initiatives. I have over 6 years’ experience in reproductive health programs. My central area of expertise is building the capacity of health care workers in reproductive maternal child and adolescent health through mentorship and coaching to ensure skills retention in quality service provision. I have a great passion for young people and continuously engage them to ensure they achieve their dreams and aspirations through partnerships and respecting their sexual and reproductive health rights.

Faith Opiyo, Founder, Center for Young Women Empowerment

Faith Opiyo is a 27-year-old advocate of sexual reproductive health and rights especially towards the demographic dividend through family planning and development. She is the founder of the Center for Young Women Empowerment (CYWE), a registered community-based organization in Kenya’s Soweto slums that deals with empowerment of youth and adolescent girls with inclusion of boys on matters of sexual reproductive health, gender, and life skills. Faith currently holds several positions in civil society: as regional coordinator of She Decides local champions in Kenya; as convener of ICPD 25 Conference through alliance of youths in CSOs; as chairperson of the Youth Advisory Panel to UNFPA (YAP-UNFPA); and as a trainer of trainers on sexual reproductive health authenticated by Ministry of Health. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in sociology and political science.

Tobias Opiyo, Catholic Relief Services Kenya

Olusola Oresanya, Country Technical Coordinator, Nigeria, ECF RISE, Malaria Consortium Nigeria

Dr. Olusola Oresanya is a medical doctor with an MPH, who is a malaria expert with a strong base in epidemiology and 17 years’ experience working in malaria public health in Nigeria. She worked for some years at the National Malaria Elimination Program where she was the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) focal point and for the past five years as the Country Technical Coordinator for Malaria Consortium Nigeria. In this current role she has technical oversight and responsibility for a large portfolio of projects and her areas of expertise include program design, policy formulation, implementation and M&E of malaria control strategies.

Vincent Otieno, AFIDEP

Lilian Otiso, Acting Executive Director, USAID SQALE, LVCT Health, @lilianotiso

Dr Lilian Otiso is the Acting Executive Director at LVCT Health, a large Kenyan Non-Governmental Organization where she leads teams to implement HIV, gender based violence and community health programs reaching over 1 million individuals in rural and informal urban settings annually. She is a fellow of the inaugural Obama Foundation Leaders: Africa 2018 program. She is a medical doctor with an MBA in Health Care Management with over 12 years’ programming and research experience in government and NGO sectors at senior management level.She is passionate about strengthening health systems for primary health care and believes in involving the beneficiaries and communities in developing and implementing programs. She is a member of national and international technical working groups on community health, HIV and quality improvement with a good reputation among government, donors and other implementing partners. She has contributed to Kenyan and global WHO policies and guidelines.

Jeanne Patrick, Ministry of Health Uganda

Laura Raney, Family Planning 2020

Regeru Regeru, Technical Officer, Community Health, USAID SQALE, LVCT Health, @rnregeru

Regeru is Technical Officer in Community Health at LVCT Health where he provided technical support to the Work Improvement Teams implementing the USAID SQALE model in Nairobi County. In addition, Regeru is part of the team that developed the training materials and Quality Improvement tools used by the USAID SQALE Program. Regeru is now providing technical support for the implementation of the USAID OPTIONS program in Kiambu concerned with improving uptake of PrEP among adolescent girls and young women who are vulnerable to infection with HIV. Regeru studied medicine at the University of Southampton from 2007-2012 and worked as a Foundation Doctor in West Yorkshire from 2012-2014. Thereafter, at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine he completed a Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and then an MSc in International Public Health.

Daisy Ruto, Jphiego

Eric Sarriot, Senior Health Systems Strengthening Advisor, Save the Children

Eric Sarriot, MD, PhD has over 25 years’ experience (but feels like 35) in community health and health systems research and practice in vulnerable international settings, through non-profit, multi-lateral, government, and private sector work. He is Senior Health Systems Strengthening Advisor for Save the Children, co-chair of the Systems for Health (S4H) working group at CORE, in addition to adjunct/temp faculty appointments. He is an advocate for creating viable systems for health, most recently as co-author of the Alma Ata anniversary BMJ Global Health supplement paper, ‘Beyond the building blocks: integrating community roles into health systems frameworks to achieve health for all’. https://gh.bmj.com/content/3/Suppl_3/e001384.full

Dr. Mohamad Sheikh, Ministry of Health Kenya

Morine Sirera, The Challenge Initiative, East Africa, Jhpiego

Brian Ssennoga, Relationship Lead, Medic Mobile, @bssennoga

Prior to joining Medic Mobile, Brian served the Global Health Corps community as Alumni Program Manager, overseeing program work to support more than 800 global health leaders in more than 35 countries in the world. Brian has worked on strengthening Health Information Systems in Uganda, using African Access Points and has worked extensively on the use of Mobile devices for household data collection with various projects in Ghana, Nigeria and in Uganda. He is a founding member of the ICT Association of Uganda, holds a Bachelor’s in Computer Science, a Postgrad Diploma in Information Technology and an MBA (International Business) with Amity University of India. He has also served on the council of the Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa. and currently serves the Creative Commons Uganda Chapter as the Global Network Council Representative. When he is not exploring the world through tech events, Brian cooks, enjoys a good book, blogs or plays his guitars. He is also a volunteer at his local church with the Creative Arts & Media Teams.

Medhin Tsehaiu, Country Director, Kenya, UNAIDS, @Medhin_Tsehaiu | @UNAIDS_Kenya

Dr. Medhin Tsehaiu is the UNAIDS Country Director in Zambia. Holder of a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Eotvos Lorand (Hungary), she has over 29 years of experience in academia, research and socio-economic developmental work. In her current role, she supported the development of national strategies, plans and grant applications in Zambia, including the 2016-2020 National Development Plan (NDP). She represented the multilaterals in the Country Coordinating Mechanism and supported the development of two rounds of Global Fund Grant applications in 2014 and 2017, raising $500 million to fight HIV, TB and malaria. Additionally, she played an active role in PEPFAR Country Operational Plan planning processes and implementation, bringing $400 million annually. She has been the Co-chair of the HIV Troika along with PEPFAR since 2014 and supported the development and implementation of key strategic Plans such as the National AIDS Strategic Framework (2017-2021). Prior to that, Dr. Tsehaiu also served as UNAIDS Country Director in South Sudan and worked with the Federal Ministry of Health of Ethiopia as Chief of Staff.

Dr. Sylvia Vito, Regional Director, East Africa, AstraZeneca

Dr. Sylvia Vito is currently serving as the Regional Director for East Africa- AstraZeneca covering Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. She has over 15 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical market in Sub Sahara Africa where she has served in several capacities. Prior to joining AstraZeneca last year, Sylvia served as the Commercial/ Marketing director GSK East Africa and in Roche for 10 years in roles spanning from sales, marketing and Regional Manager EA.  Sylvia is passionate about people, business growth & driving science to solve the healthcare challenges of tomorrow, today. She believes that by partnering with Governments, Professional Associations, Development Partners, Private Sector and Industry – we will make a meaningful, tangible & sustainable impact on the footprint of AstraZeneca in our region.

Dr. Elizabeth Wala, Program Director, Health Systems Strengthening, Amref Health Africa, @lizwala | @Amref_Kenya

Dr. Elizabeth Wala is the current program director health systems strengthening with Amref Health Africa in Kenya. She has more than 15 years’ experience spanning fields of health systems strengthening for universal health coverage, health care policy development, pharmaceutical medicine and clinical research. She is known and respected for program refinements and building credibility and partnerships across cultures and with leading national and international private, public, and non-profit health sector stakeholders. Dr. Wala has participated in the development of key national and international policies and guidelines across many African countries. She serves as vice-chair for the Kenya Healthcare Federation and co-chair of SDGs Kenya Forum. She has also served as organization representative at national and international forums, conferences, technical working groups, and advisory boards. She was part of Business Daily’s Top 40 Under 40 Women in 2016, and was a 2017 nominee of the Upcoming Human Rights Defender of the Year Award. Dr. Wala received a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery at the University of Nairobi, a Master of Science in Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Certificate in Economic Evaluation of Global Health at the University of Washington.

Catherine Wamuyu, MEAL Officer, Save the Children Kenya

Catherine Wamuyu has a diploma in information technology from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and an ongoing degree in Health system management in Kenya Methodist University. She has 9 years of experience in the NGO health sector. Has worked with Catholic Relief Services, FH Kenya and currently working with Save the Children Kenya country office as a MEAL officer.

Prof. Miriam Were, Moi University

Prof. Miriam Were is a Kenyan medical doctor, public health specialist, teacher and publisher. She is a member of the Champions for HIV-Free Generation that mostly consists of former African Heads of State. She has been Chancellor of Moi University, Chairman of Kenya’s National AIDS Control Council and Chairman of the Board of African Medical and Research Foundation. She graduated as a Medical Doctor from the University of Nairobi and holds both the Masters (MPH) and Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degrees from Johns Hopkins University. Prof. Were worked in the Kenyan Ministry of Health, Faculty of Medicine of the University of Nairobi, UNICEF, WHO and UNFPA. The focus of her work and research has been on establishing and promoting community health. Prof. Were has received multiple honors and awards including Kenya’s Elder of the Burning Spear, the Queen Elizabeth II Gold Medal in Public Health and Knight in the French National Order of the Légion d’Honneur. She is the first Laureate of the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize for Medical Services by Japan.

Jenelle Williams, Director of Programs, Global Health Action

Jenelle Williams is the Director of Programs at Global Health Action, where she leads the strategic programmatic and partnership development efforts addressing women’s and children’s issues across Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and North America. Jenelle has held such roles as Director of Cultural Health Initiatives for the American Heart Association, National Field Director for Community Catalyst, Deputy Director for Planning and Partnerships for the Georgia Department of Public Health, CDC Healthy Communities Expert Advisor, consultant to private sector and more. Jenelle’s passion is engaging stakeholders across multiple sectors to listen to each other with the belief that communities have the capacity to answer the challenges they face. As a transdisciplinary practitioner herself, Jenelle takes this approach to her work across the globe and has presented and published her work pertaining to health equity, health impact assessment, and the biomedical sciences. She is a graduate of New York University (BA), American Intercontinental University (MBA) and Columbia Business School (Executive Education).

Barnabas Mbele John Yeke, Nutrition in Detention Field Officer, International Rescue Committee

Barnabas currently ensures adequate nutrition care practices and general food assistance for over 5,000 prisoners in places of detention in South Sudan including general food assistance and targeted treatment of acute malnutrition in Aweil, Wau, Tonj, Torit, Rumbek and Juba. He has worked for several other organizations including as a Research Officer-IRC, Pathou Aweil South; Nutrition Project officer for Wau/Raja with Johanniter international; iCCM program officer-IRC -Aweil East Northern Bhar El Ghazal, Register nurse-Juba Teaching Hospital and Assistant Senior Nursing officer-Mary immaculate hospital- Lakes State-South Sudan. Barnabas has a Bachelors Degree in Public Health from Kampala University Uganda, and he is a registered nurse from the Catholic Health Training Institute-South Sudan-Wau.