RBM Partnership to End Malaria Board
The Partnership Board is the governing body of the Partnership and leads the Partnership in the drive towards achieving the vision through its strategies and associated operational plans.
In June 2016, the RBM Partnership named a new board to lead the global organisation into a new era and drive momentum to end malaria for good. Read message from the newly elected Chair of the RBM Partnership Board. This new Partnership Board includes individuals with deep expertise and experience at a senior decision-making level as well as representation from across the Partnership, including malaria-affected countries, private sector, civil society, donor funding organisations, and entities outside the malaria and health sectors, civil society and donors.
Professor Maha Taysir Barakat
Former Director General of the Health Authority Abu Dhabi
Professor Maha Taysir Barakat has held the post of Director General of the Health Authority Abu Dhabi from 2013 until 2018. Previously, she was Co-Founder, Medical & Research Director and Consultant Endocrinologist at the Imperial College London Diabetes Centre (ICLDC) in Abu Dhabi, and Reader at Imperial College London. In 2013, she became a visiting Professor at Imperial College London.
She has served as a member of the Social Development Committee of the Executive Council of the Government of Abu Dhabi, and Board member of several Government of Abu Dhabi-related entities including the Board of Trustees of Khalifa University, the Family Development Foundation, the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council, and the Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi.
As part of her role within the Health Authority, in addition to the fight against lifestyle-related disease, Professor Barakat has supported several public health eradication campaigns against communicable disease both within the UAE and internationally, including Africa and the Indian subcontinent.
For her work to the community in the UAE, Professor Barakat was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2010, was awarded the Abu Dhabi Prize in 2011, and given the Imperial College Medal in 2013.
Dr Marijke Wijnroks
Chief of Staff, Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria
Marijke Wijnroks became Chief of Staff at the Global Fund in 2013. From June 2017 through February 2018, she served as Interim Executive Director. In her position she has a broad responsibility and a particular focus on gender and human rights and on engaging with all partners in the cause of global health. Before joining the Global Fund, Marijke Wijnroks was Ambassador for HIV/AIDS and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, and also Deputy Director of the Social Development Department, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands. In that position she has overseen policy and strategy development in areas related to HIV and AIDS, sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender, education and civil society. She earned a medical degree from Maastricht University in the Netherlands and a degree in tropical health and medicine from the Institute for Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium.
Dr Pedro L Alonso
Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme in Geneva, Switzerland.
Dr Pedro L Alonso is the Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme in Geneva, Switzerland. The Global Malaria Programme is responsible for the coordination of WHO’s global efforts to control and eliminate malaria and sets evidence-based norms, standards, policies and guidelines to support malaria-affected countries around the world.
A national of Spain, Dr Alonso has spent over 30 years in public health. His scientific research work has focused on key determinants of morbidity and mortality in the most vulnerable population groups. He has published over 300 articles in international peer-reviewed journals – primarily on malaria treatment, vaccine trials and preventive therapies – and has served on several national and international committees. He is particularly committed to capacity building of both institutions and individuals, primarily in Africa.
Prior to taking up the WHO position, Dr Alonso was Director of the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and Professor of Global Health at the University of Barcelona, and President of the Governing Board of the Manhiça Foundation and the Manhiça Health Research Centre in Mozambique.
Mr Elhadj As Sy
Chair, Kofi Annan Foundation Board
Elhadj As Sy is the Chair of the Kofi Annan Foundation Board, and Co-chair of the WHO/World Bank Global Pandemic Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB). In addition to these functions, Mr. Sy is also a Commissioner for the Global Commission on Climate Adaptation, Governor at the Wellcome Trust, and a member of the Governing Board of Interpeace as well as numerous other boards and organizations.
Mr. Sy has extensive experience in leadership roles in the humanitarian, health, environment, development sectors, and has previously served as the Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) IFRC ‐ the world’s largest humanitarian network. Prior to this appointment, he served at a senior level with UNICEF, UNAIDS, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and other agencies for more than 25 years.
Mr. Sy was UNICEF’s Director of Partnerships and Resource Development in New York. He has also served as UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa and Global
Emergency Coordinator for the Horn of Africa. From 2005 to 2008, Mr. Sy was Director, HIV/AIDS Practice with the United Nations Development Programme in New York. Before that, he worked with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria as its Africa Regional Director and later as Director of Operational Partnerships and Country Support in Geneva. Mr. Sy has also held the position of UNAIDS Representative in New York and Director of the New York Liaison Office. From 1988 to 1997, he served as Director of Health and Development Programmes with Environment and Development Action in the Third World in Dakar, Senegal.
Mr. Sy holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts and Human Sciences from the University of Dakar. He then pursued Master’s studies in Arts and Germanistik at the University of Graz, and graduated from the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna. He was also awarded a post graduate diploma in Education from the École normale supérieure in Dakar. He speaks English, French and German and is a national of Senegal
Dr Elizabeth Chizema serves as African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) End Malaria Council Secretariat Officer based in Zambia. The End Malaria Council (EMC) is a country owned country led high-level multi-sector body convened to support malaria elimination efforts through advocacy, resource mobilization, action and accountability. As Secretariat Officer, Elizabeth Chizema helps to establish the country EMC, providing advisory support on the EMC management and documentation of the EMC actions, supporting advocacy and mobilization of resources for malaria elimination. She has over 30 years of technical and health management experience; previously held the position of Director, National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), Zambia and Director of various technical departments at the Ministry of Health in Zambia. She serves on a number of national and international boards, as Faculty in the Science of Eradication: Malaria –Leadership Development Course and as WHO Temporary Advisor. Dr. Chizema holds a BSc Human Biology, a medical degree from the University of Zambia, a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Pretoria in South Africa and a Higher Diploma in District Health Management (PAID-ESA/KIT).
Dr Lola Dare is an award-winning community physician, epidemiologist, public health practitioner, development consultant, social entrepreneur and irrepressible global health advocate for women, girls, young persons for over 30 years. She has championed the application of evidence and data for policy, evaluation and accountability demand functions of a broad range of non-state actors including civil society and community-based organizations, private sector and the media. She is currently the President of CHESTRAD Global Development Synergies, a trail blazing and award winning African-led social enterprise operating in Africa, Europe and North America with its headquarters office in Nigeria. She has served in many roles in governance mechanisms in Africa and internationally, including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, GAVI and the African Union. Dr Lola Dare is a graduate of the College of Medicine University of Ibadan, Nigeria’s foremost College of Medicine, and holds a Master’s degree in Epidemiology.
Dr Richard Nchabi Kamwi
Elimination 8 Ambassador
Dr Kamwi convened the inaugural Elimination 8 Ministerial Initiative, which was established in 2009 as a platform for regional collaboration towards elimination in the SADC region. He is an expert in the field of malaria elimination, holding a PhD in Malariology, and began his career in malaria as the head of the malaria response in Namibia, prior to his appointment as Deputy Minister of Health, and then Minister of Health. While Minister of Health, he led an effort to secure both domestic and external resources for the health sector, greatly expanding Namibia’s response to HIV, TB, and malaria.
Dr. Kamwi has demonstrated commitment and leadership for malaria elimination in southern Africa, and was requested to continue to support the region as E8 Ambassador after his term in office. As E8 Ambassador, Dr. Kamwi supports diplomatic and strategic engagement by the Ministers of Health of SADC. Dr. Kamwi is a sought after advisor and speaker on various issues, and malaria in particular; he serves as a member of the UNITAID Expert Advisory Panel, as well as the WHO Regional Director’s independent advisory group.
Dr Altaf Lal
Senior Advisor Global Health and Innovation Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Limited
Dr Lal is Senior Advisor for Global Health and Innovation, Sun Pharma. With vast interest and knowledge of Discovery, Development, Delivery, and Diplomacy in biomedical sciences and public healthDr Altaf Lal has over three decades’ experience in malaria and infectious disease laboratory and field research, vaccinology, biotechnology, product safety, and health policy. He has strong leadership skills using science-based decision making, strategic thinking, and fostering teamwork approach.
Throughout his career Dr. Lal has worked towards building bilateral and multilateral partnerships, which has led to significant growth and collaborations at academic, institutional, industry and government levels. He has received FDA Commissioner’s Special Citation Award, Unit Citation Award, U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, National Oceanic Service, James H. Nakano Citation, National Center for Infectious Disease (NICD), CDC, Outstanding Scientific Contribution to Public Health Award, NCID, CDC, Honor Award, NICD, CDC, Group Honor Award for Operational Research, NCID, CDC. He is recipient of the Life Time Achievement Award in 2016 and the Gugnani Oration Award in 2011 by the Indian Society of Malaria and other Communicable Diseases, Public Health Ambassador Award, NICD, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 2009, and HIV/AIDS Ambassador Award, Hyderabad University, 2007.
Previously, Dr. Lal served as the Director of FDA India Office; Technical Director, Decade of Vaccines Collaboration; Chief Executive Officer, Hilleman Laboratories, U.S. Health Attaché and Regional Representative for South Asia at the U.S. Embassy in India; Chief Malaria Vaccine Section at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA. Dr. Lal has published over 220 papers.
Dr Winnie Mpanju-Shumbusho, MD; MPH; M.MED
Former Assistant Director General for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases, World Health Organization
Dr. Winnie Mpanju-Shumbusho has more than 35 years’ experience in key senior leadership positions in health, public health, global health and international cooperation. She served as the World Health Organization’s Assistant Director General for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases until her retirement on 31 December 2015. She led WHO’s work in prevention, control, impact-mitigation, technical support to countries; and global partnerships to combat these diseases, thus contributing to achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Her vision and leadership also ensured effective transition of the WHO’s HTM Cluster’s work from the MDG to the SDG framework.
Previously Dr. Mpanju-Shumbusho deputized the WHO ADG/HTM; and concurrently directed the WHO’s Office for Global Fund Partnership and Technical Cooperation, including WHO’s technical support to countries, that facilitated eligible countries’ access and utilisation of more than 10 billion USD from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and contribute to health systems strengthening.
Earlier she served as Director of the WHO’s HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections Programme and co-founder of the WHO 3by5 Initiative.
She has also served as a member of various international boards, including the Global Fund Board, “Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases”Board; WHO/UNICEF-UNDP-World Bank Special Programme for research and training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) Board; UNITAID Board and UNAIDS Programme Coordination Board; Adventures in Health, Education and Agricultural Development (AHEAD Inc.) International Board; and Tanzania National Water Authority Board.
Prior to joining WHO, Dr Mpanju-Shumbusho was Director General of the Commonwealth Regional Health Community Secretariat for East, Central and Southern Africa (now known as the East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community Secretariat), where she spearheaded policies and mobilised political commitment, resources and partnerships to tackle the Region’s public health priorities. She also served as the Head of the University of Dar-es-salaam’s Department of Community Health; Senior Lecturer in Paediatrics & Child Health and Community Health; Chief Public Health Adviser to the Ministry of Health of Tanzania; and International Monitor of multi-country clinical trials for malaria drugs and vaccines on behalf WHO/TDR.
Dr. Mpanju-Shumbusho has won various leadership, humanitarian and academic awards, including the AHEAD Humanitarian Award; and she has published widely.
As a native of a malaria endemic country, Dr Mpanju-Shumbusho brings a multi-faceted perspective to the RBM Board, along with her unwavering commitment and resolve to end the scourge of malaria.
Dr David Reddy
Chief Executive Officer, Medicines for Malaria Venture
Dr David Reddy, PhD, is CEO of Medicines for Malaria Venture. This not-for-profit research foundation, with its partners, has brought forward 13 new antimalarial drugs to malaria-endemic countries, saving an estimated 2 million lives to date. In addition, MMV has broadened the global malaria medicine portfolio and manages, with its partners, 65 projects, and has 10 compounds in clinical development including molecules with novel mechanisms of action, conferring benefits against drug resistant malaria parasites.
David is a New Zealand / Swiss dual national, with 26 years of experience in the development and commercialization of medicines for the treatment of infectious diseases. His resume includes successful leadership of drug development teams, licensing and alliance management, market analytics and business planning, product and disease area management, and interfacing with Governments, NGOs and patient advocacy groups around access to medicines for priority diseases including HIV/AIDS and pandemic influenza. David is a Board member of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria and of the Board of Trustees of Malaria No More UK. David has a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Dr Mirta Roses Periago
Director Emeritus of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
Dr Mirta Roses Periago, from Argentina, is the Director Emeritus of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), also the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Americas, after being elected twice as Director (2003 to 2013) becoming the first woman to head the world’s oldest international public health organization (founded in 1902) and the first female WHO Regional Director.
Before that, she was PAHO Assistant Director (1995-2003) with direct supervision of Country Offices in the Americas and one of the six members of WHO’s Directors of Program Management Group (DPMs). She has served WHO for almost three decades actively participating in global efforts in epidemic control and emergencies, equity in health, health promotion and security and health regulation. Her international career started as coordinator of the Epidemiological Surveillance Unit (Caribbean Epidemiology Center-CAREC) in Trinidad and Tobago (1984-1986), serving all Caribbean countries, and afterwards as PAHO/WHO Representative in the Dominican Republic (1988-1992) and in Bolivia (1992-1995).
Dr. Roses chaired the Global Agenda Council on Chronic Diseases and Well-Being (GAC/NCDs) of the World Economic Forum (WEF) from August 2010 to July 2011 leading to the first UN High Level meeting on NCDs. Currently she is a corresponding member of the National Academy of Medicine (Buenos Aires.), LAC Board member at the Global Fund AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis as well as member of the WHO SAGeM/Strategic advisory Group on Malaria eradication, Sasakawa Health Foundation SAG on Global Leprosy elimination, WHO TIMB (Transition Independent Monitoring Board Polio eradication) and WHO MEOC (Malaria eradication oversight committee)
Dr Helen Jamet,
Deputy Director, Vector Control, Malaria, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Dr Helen Jamet has more than 20 years of experience in malaria prevention, research and vector control product development. She joined the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2018 as Deputy Director, Vector Control in the malaria programme strategy team.
Helen worked in the private sector from 2007 to 2018, where she was responsible for product development and defining the pathway to bring new products to market, including the first next-generation long lasting insecticidal mosquito net. Prior to joining the private sector, Helen was based in Tanzania, where she conducted field research and evaluated mosquito traps being developed for the African market.
Helen holds a PhD in Infectious Diseases and a Master of Science in Medical Parasitology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She earned a Bachelor’s of Science (Hons) in Applied Biology from the University of Leeds in the UK. She is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene and the Royal Entomological Society.
Dr John M. Chimumbwa
Dr John M. Chimumbwa has more than two decades of experience leading large healthcare programmes in Africa in the field of child survival, health systems strengthening, and commodities planning and management. Dr Chimumbwa is a Zambian national, currently serving as Executive Director of the SADC Malaria Elimination 8 Secretariat, a coalition of eight southern African countries working across national borders to eliminate malaria. Having started his career as a National Malaria Programme Manager in his home country, Dr Chimumbwa has demonstrated high-quality leadership facilitating and coordinating collaboration among governments, development partners and beneficiaries, as well as building private-public partnerships and participatory approaches to development. His work has been recognized with prestigious awards, and he sits on several professional bodies, frequently holding the position of chair or advisor. Dr Chimumbwa’s academic qualifications include three University degrees, and authorship of numerous publications. Apart from English and basic French, he speaks several African dialects.
Professor Juntra Karbwang-Laothavorn MD, DTM&H, PhD
President of SIDCER-FERCAP Foundation, Thailand.
Professor Juntra Karbwang-Laothavorn is the President of the Strategic Initiative for Developing Capacity in Ethical Review (SIDCER)-Forum for Ethical Review Committees in the Asian and Western Pacific Region (FERCAP) Foundation, Thailand. Since taking this position in 2017, she has played a leadership role in maintaining the Ethics Committee Partnership in Asia and Africa for strengthening the capacity of research ethics.
Professor Juntra brings over 30 years of experience in tropical medicine and antimalarial research, having worked as a clinical coordinator at the WHO Special Training and Research Programme in Tropical Diseases, a professor in clinical tropical medicine at Mahidol University, Thailand, and a professor in clinical product development at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Japan. She holds a Medical Degree from the South Western University, Philippines, the Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from the Tropical Institute, Thailand and a PhD in Clinical Pharmacology from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Dr Raj Panjabi
Dr Raj Panjabi was appointed by President Joe Biden to lead the United States President’s Malaria Initiative in February 2021. Born in Liberia, Dr Panjabi settled in the United States after fleeing civil war at age nine. Previously, he served as a professor at Harvard Medical School and CEO of Last Mile Health, an award-winning nonprofit he founded in 2007 to deliver life-saving care to the world’s most remote places. TIME named him one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World and he won a $1 million TED Prize in 2017. Dr Panjabi trained in medicine and public health at University of North Carolina, Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Medical School.
United Nations Office for Project Services
The United Nations Offices for Project Services (UNOPS) serves as the host of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria. UNOPS serves in an ex-officio function on the Partnership Board.
