Secretary-General's Forum on
Advancing Global Health in the Face of Crisis
Monday 15 June 2009 Trusteeship Council, UN Headquarters, New York
PARTICIPANT BIOGRAPHIES
RAY CHAMBERS, Special Envoy for Malaria | Mr. Chambers is a philanthropist and humanitarian who has directed most of his efforts towards children. He is the Founding Chairman of the Points of Light Foundation and co-founded, with Colin Powell, America 's Promise Alliance. Mr. Chambers is Co-Founder of the National Mentoring Partnership, and Founding Chairman of both The Millennium Promise Alliance and Malaria No More. Mr. Chambers is also the Founding Chairman of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and a member of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. His board memberships include The National Mentoring Partnership, The Points of Light Foundation/Hands on Network , America 's Promise Alliance, Communities in Schools, University of Notre Dame, and American Museum of Natural History. He is the former Chairman of Wesray Capital Corporation, which he co-founded with William E. Simon.
DAVID DE FERRANTI, President, Results for Development Institute | Mr. de Ferranti has over thirty years of experience on health policy issues in developing countries. He has held leadership and senior management positions in the public and private sectors, chiefly in the fields of international development and, earlier, U.S. public policy. He is a Senior Fellow of the Brookings Institution, an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University , serves on several boards and international groups, and advises a large investment firm and an emerging high-tech enterprise. Previously, as part of the World Bank's top management, he oversaw major aspects of its operations and initiatives, including its work on international health policy issues. He also oversaw the Bank's work on Latin America and the Caribbean , where he was responsible for a $25 billion loan portfolio, 700 professionals in 14 locations, and a $160 million budget. Prior to the World Bank, he held management positions at Rand and in the U.S. government. He serves as Chairs of the Board of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, The Health Financing Task Force, The Task Force on Health Workforce Costs and Financing, and The Working Group on AIDS Costs and Financing. He has a Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University , and a Bachelors degree from Yale University .
JULIO FRENK, Dean of Harvard School of Public Health and Former Health Minister of Mexico | Dr. Frenk became dean of the Harvard School of Public Health in January 2009. As a former Minister of Health of Mexico from 2000 to 2006, Dr. Frenk pursued an ambitious agenda to reform the country's health system, with an emphasis on redressing social inequality and establishing a program of comprehensive national health insurance, known as Seguro Popular. After completing his term, Dr. Frenk served as a senior fellow in the global health program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and as president of the Carso Health Institute in Mexico City. He is currently chair of the board of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington . A member of the U.S. Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Medicine of Mexico , he has served on the editorial boards of more than a dozen publications. Dr. Frenk holds an MD from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and an MPH, MA (Sociology) and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan .
TORE GODAL, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Norway on Global Health | Dr Godal is an international public health specialist, working as Special Advisor and Consultant to the Norwegian Prime Minister, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Health Organization (WHO), Health Metrics Network, and The GAVI Alliance. As founding Executive Secretary of GAVI, he was instrumental in its initial design and development and its financial arm, the Vaccine Fund. Prior to this, Dr Godal played a significant role in the initiation of the UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Program for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, leading its pilot project and flagship effort, Immunology of Leprosy. Before retiring from WHO, he launched the Roll Back Malaria project. Dr Godal has contributed significantly to the understanding of mechanisms of immunity to mycobacteria, the pathogenesis of autoimmune disease, and the clinical and sub-clinical manifestations of leprosy. His research led to the development of numerous diagnostic tools, including monoclonal antibodies for leukemia and lymph node cancer.
MICHAEL JOSEPH, CEO, Safaricom | Mr. Joseph has extensive international experience in the implementation and operation of large wireless and wireline networks, including operations in Hungary , Spain , Brazil , Peru , Argentina , Korea , United States , Australia and the Middle East . He has specialised in license acquisition, construction of new networks, turnaround management and start-up of new operations during his career that spans over 40 years starting as a pupil telecommunications technician to his current position. He guided Safaricom from a subscriber base of fewer than 20,000 in 2000 to over 10 million today, and has received many awards, including CEO of the Year by the Kenya Institute of Management. Mr. Joseph has a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cape Town , and is a member of the I.E.E.E. and I.E.E. (U.K.).
MICHEL KAZATCHKINE, Executive Director, The Global Fund | Professor Kazatchkine spent the past 25 years fighting AIDS as a leading physician, researcher, administrator, advocate, policy maker, and diplomat.
He has played key roles in various organizations, including Director of the National Agency for Research on AIDS (ANRS), Chair of the World Health Organization's Strategic and Technical Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS, member of the WHO's Scientific and Technical Advisory Group on tuberculosis, and French Ambassador on HIV/AIDS and communicable diseases. He has authored or co-authored over 500 articles in peer reviewed journals, focusing on auto-immunity, immuno-intervention and pathogenesis of HIV/AIDS. Dr. Kazatchkine attended medical school at Necker-Enfants-Malades in Paris , studied immunology at the Pasteur Institute, and completed postdoctoral fellowships at London 's St Mary's hospital and Harvard Medical School .
LIYA KEBEDE, The Liya Kebede Foundation | Ms. Kebede is an internationally recognized supermodel, actress, designer, maternal health advocate and mother. She is the founder of the Liya Kebede Foundation, a Goodwill Ambassador for the WHO's maternal and child health program, and an Advisory Board member for the Mothers Day Every Day campaign. As WHO ambassador, she has been a vocal advocate for health, empowerment and development causes impacting women. In 2006, she founded the Liya Kebede Foundation, which raises awareness, promotes proven low-cost technologies, which reduce maternal and child mortality, and educates health workers. Ms. Kebede is a dedicated advocate for women's and children's health, including the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS. In 2007, she launched Lemlem, a line of women and children's clothing which supports Ethiopia 's local weaving traditions. Lemlem combines Ms. Kebede's interest in fashion with her humanitarian work, creating economic opportunities for artisans in her native Ethiopia .
IVAN LEWIS, Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office , UK | Mr. Lewis was appointed to his current position in June 2009. He was previously Minister of Overseas Development at the Department for International Development (DFID). He has also previously served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Care Services, Economic Secretary to the UK Treasury, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Skills and Vocational Education at the UK Department for Education and Skills, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Young People and Learning, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Adult Learning and Skills and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Young People and Adult Skills. Mr. Lewis has been a UK Member of Parliament for Bury South since 1997. He was educated at William Hulme Grammar School in Manchester , Stand Sixth Form College and Bury College of Further Education.
JULIAN LOB-LEVYT, Executive Secretary, GAVI Alliance | Julian Lob-Levyt joined GAVI in January 2005 as the Chief Executive Officer of the GAVI Alliance. Prior to taking up the leadership of GAVI, Julian worked with UNAIDS as Senior Policy Adviser to the Executive Director. His career in global health has included work with both bilateral and multilateral organisations. Under the leadership of Secretary of State for International Development Clare Short, he was Chief Health Adviser at the UK Department for International Development (DFID) from 2000-2004. Other key posts have included Regional Health Adviser for the European Commission (EC) in Zimbabwe (1998-1999) and health sector reform Coordinator for WHO in Cambodia (1994-1997). Julian formerly represented the UK Government and donor constituencies as a member of the GAVI Board, and represented the UK as a founding board member of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. He is currently a board member of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and the Global Health Workforce Alliance.
AARON MOTSOALEDI, Minister of Health of South Africa | Dr. Motsoaledi entered politics in 1994 as a member of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature, and has served as the MECs for education, transport agriculture, land and environment, before he was appointed as minister of health in 2009. He has a bachelor's degree in Medicine and a bachelor's degree in Surgery from the University of Natal .
LESEGO MOTSUMI, Minister of Health of Botswana | Ms. Motsumi was appointed as Botswana 's Minister of Health in 2008 from her former position as Minister of Works and Transport. As Health Minister, she launched major tuberculosis projects in Botswana in response to epidemics.
DAVID NABARRO, Senior UN System Coordinator for Avian and Human Influenza | As a UN Assistant Secretary-General, Dr. Nabarro serves as Senior UN System Coordinator for Avian and Human Influenza, and as Deputy UN System Coordinator and Coordinator for the Global Food Security Crisis. He has worked in the UK National Health Service, taught at the London and Liverpool Schools of Tropical Medicine, worked in child health programmes in Nepal , served as regional manager for the UK Save the Children Fund in South Asia and as health and population adviser to the British Overseas Development Administration (ODA) in Kenya . He also served as ODA's Chief Health and Population Adviser and as Director for Human Development in the Department for International Development (DFID). Dr. Nabarro has managed the WHO's Roll Back Malaria project and became Executive Director in the Office of the Director-General. He transferred to WHO's Sustainable Development and Healthy Environments cluster in 2003 and was appointed Representative of the Director-General for Health Action in Crises, coordinating support for health assessments and aspects of crises preparedness, response and recovery operations in a variety of locations including Darfur, Liberia, and countries affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
THORAYA AHMED OBAID, Executive Director, UNFPA | Ms. Obaid was appointed UNFPA Executive Director in 2001 . She has a long and distinguished career at the UN. She has served as Deputy Executive Secretary for the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), and as Director of the then-Division for Arab States and Europe in UNFPA. As UNFPA Executive Director, she introduced a focus on culture to its development work, linking universal values of human rights to values of the human worth promoted by all religions and found in all cultures. Ms. Obaid was ranked among the 50 Most Powerful Arab Women by Forbes magazine in 2005. She is also profiled as one of 100 Muslim Builders of World Civilization and Culture in Notable Muslims, a book published in Oxford , England , in 2006. Ms. Obaid has a doctorate degree in English Literature and Cultural Anthropology from Wayne State University in Michigan .
ARIEL PABLOS-M É NDEZ, Managing Director, Rockefeller Foundation | Dr. Pablos-Méndez is Managing Di rector at The Rockefeller Foundation, and Professor of Clinical Medicine and Epidemiology at Columbia University . He previously served as WHO Director of Knowledge Management in Geneva , working to bridge the know-do gap in public health and promoting e-Health. He returned to the Rockefeller Foundation in 2007, where he was a program officer from 1998 to 2004 spearheading public-private partnerships in R&D for diseases of poverty and the Foundation's strategy on AIDS and human resources for health. He now drives the Foundation's initiative on the transformation of health systems for universal coverage. Dr. Pablos-Méndez received his M.D. from the University of Guadalajara and his M.P.H from Columbia University .
JOY PHUMAPHI, Vice President, Human Development Network, World Bank | Ms. Phumaphi was appointed to her current position in February 2007 after leaving the public service in Botswana as the Principal auditor for its Local Authorities. She served as a parliamentarian from 1994 to 2003, and as the founding Treasurer of the Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum. She entered Botswana 's cabinet with responsibility for Lands and Housing and developed the first national housing policy. She was then appointed Health Minister where she restructured the ministry to make it more focused on results while overseeing revision of the Public Health Act, introducing the self regulatory Health Professions Act, and implementing a multi-sectoral plan to combat HIV/AIDS. In 2003, she joined the WHO as the Assistant Director-General for Family and Community Health, where she oversaw its Global Maternal, Child, Adolescent and Reproductive health programs, and the Aging and Gender programs. She sits on various Boards, including The Global Health Council.
K. SRINATH REDDY, President, Public Health Foundation of India | Prof. Reddy is a world leader in preventive cardiology and public health. He has provided outstanding leadership in tobacco control through his work as an academic, an advisor to governments, a public health activist, and a WHO resource expert and advocate for the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTe). Prof. Reddy is Vice-Chair of the Initiative for Cardiovascular Health Research in the Developing Countries, a global partnership programme which promotes research for prevention of cardiovascular diseases in developing countries. He has contributed to the mapping of health transition in India and other developing countries and shaped policy and programme responses to the evolving epidemics of chronic diseases. He also played a major role in stimulating and supporting informed health advocacy by young people. He was awarded the Luther Terry Award and the Honorary Fellowship of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in March. Dr. Reddy received his training in medicine and cardiology at AIIMS, and in epidemiology at McMaster University .
GLORIA REUBEN, Actor and Social Activist | Ms. Reuben is an accomplished actor, singer and social activist. She participated in Speak Truth To Power, a human rights play in South Africa in August 2008 for the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, attended presidential conventions with The Creative Coalition to advocate for her causes, and is a Board member for Waterkeeper Alliance, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s water protection and preservation foundation. She is also an ambassador for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and speaks across the country on behalf of the HIV/AIDS cause, focusing specifically in the African American and Latino communities. Ms. Reuben has also spoken at the Planned Parenthood introduction to their collaboration with the Rights Have No Borders project, and was the keynote speaker at the first Black Women's Conference on HIV/AIDS on World AIDS Day in 2005.
RICHARD SEZIBERA, Minister of Health of Rwanda | Dr. Sezibera was appointed Minister of Health of Rwandan in October 2008. He has served in many capacities in the Rwandan government including Ambassador to the U.S. Presidential Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region and Senior Advisor to the President where he worked on peace and security, conflict management and resolution, as well as regional integration issues. He is the author of many publications in university journals, mainly in the field of politics and international affairs, and published numerous articles and interviews in major national, regional and international media houses including the Washington Post, Foreign Affairs magazine, CNN, VOA, and BBC. Dr. Sezibera graduated with Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees and practiced medicine for many years in Uganda and Rwanda . He also has a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Georgetown University .
MICHEL SIDIBÉ , Executive Director of UNAIDS | Prior to his current appointment, Mr. Sidibé served as UNAIDS' Deputy Executive Director of Programmes where he led its contributions to regional and country responses as well as its efforts in global policies, evidence, monitoring and evaluation. He began his career in global health and development in his native Mali where he served as country director for the international development federation Terre des Hommes. Mr Sidibé then joined UNICEF in 1987 where he served for 14 years and oversaw programmes across ten francophone countries in Africa . He also served as UNICEF Country Representative in Swaziland , Burundi , and Uganda . He became the Director of Country and Regional support department for UNAIDS in 2001. Mr Sidibé has two graduate diplomas in Social Planning and Demography and in Development and Political Economy from the University of Clermont , and a master's degree in economics.
MARGARET SIMWANZA SITTA, Minister for Community Development, Gender and Children of Tanzania | Ms. Sitta served in various capacities in the Tanzanian government prior to her current appointment as Minister for Community Development, Gender and Children. She was Minister for Education and Vocational Training, and before that, served as the Principal Education Officer with the Ministry of Education and Culture, and in the Federation of Trade Unions. She was also Chairperson of the Trade Union Congress of Tanzania and President of the Tanzania Teachers' Union . She is also a member of the Tanzanian Parliament and the National Executive Council CCM (Ruling Party). Ms. Sitta has a bachelor's degree with honours in education from the University of Dar es Salaam .
RAJEEV VENKAYYA, Director of Global Health Delivery, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | Dr. Venkayya oversees late-stage development of health technologies and interventions as well as efforts to expand access to health solutions in the developing world at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He is also an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of California , San Francisco (UCSF). Dr. Venkayya was previously the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Biodefense at the White House Homeland Security Council. Prior to this, he was a Director for Biodefense and Health at the White House Homeland Security Council and served as a Special Advisor to the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prior to his positions at the Homeland Security Council, Dr. Venkayya was one of thirteen individuals appointed by President Bush to the non-partisan White House Fellowship program from 2002-03. Dr. Venkayya has a BS/ MD from Northeastern Ohio University .
ANN M. VENEMAN, Executive Director, UNICEF | Ms. Veneman was appointed as UNICEF's fifth Executive Director in May 2005. As the UN's leading children's agency, UNICEF is on the ground in more than 150 developing countries helping children to survive and thrive. It works to advance the Millennium Development Goals by supporting child health and nutrition, quality basic education for all, access to clean water and sanitation and the protection of children from violence, exploitation and HIV/AIDS. Ms. Veneman directs a global agency of over 10,000 staff and annual total resources of more than $3 billion. Since becoming Executive Director, she has traveled around the world, witnessing firsthand the work of UNICEF, speaking at meetings and conferences, and visiting heads of state or government and other partners. Prior to joining UNICEF, Veneman held positions in both state and national government including United States Secretary of Agriculture. Veneman has a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California (UC), Davis; a master of public policy from UC, Berkeley , and a juris doctor degree from UC, Hastings College of the Law.
SAM ZARAMBA, Director-General of Health Services, Ministry of Health of Uganda | Prior to his current position as Director-General of Health Services in Uganda, Dr. Zaramba was the Director of Health Services responsible for Community and Clinical Services in Uganda's Ministry of Health, where he led the development of the ten-year Health Policy and the two Health Sector Strategic Plans that have been guiding Health Service delivery in Uganda. The two documents have served as the blueprints and guiding tools for most of Africa and other developing countries' health policies and strategic plans. Dr. Zaramba has represented Uganda on many national, regional and international fora on health, and chaired the 2007/08 WHO Regional Executive Committee. He is the next Chairperson of the WHO Executive Board in Geneva for the 125 th and 126 th Executive Board Meetings. Dr. Zaramba is a graduate of the Makerere Medical School in Uganda .