Arthur Heywood

Global Health Education and Training and the Chair

Arthur, is a public health veteran and has been an activist right from his student days, fighting for inclusion of the Alma Ata declaration into the medical curriculum. Since then, it has been the  basis of all his work - writing and teaching. Formerly a University lecturer and professor in South Africa between 1994 and 2000, he currently works with University of Oslo.  

Arthur has set up Masters programs in Public Health and Information Systems in South Africa, Mocambique Malawi and Tanzania, all of them with a focus on using information to improve PHC service provision and to promote equity.

He is also a founding member of the Health Information Systems Program in post-apartheidSouth Africa, a program that has grown from one district in Cape Town to being used in over 60countries world-wide. The past three years, he has been instrumental in establishing the DHIS2 data use academies for UiO, developing and using material now used by the 10 HISP nodes for training in the four continents

Bertra Bradford McGann

International business development expert for nonprofits

Ms. Bertra Bradford McGann is an international development professional with expertise in business development and resource mobilization has 30 years of experience in the public and private sectors, and with international organizations. Currently serving as a Senior Consultant to AFRICARE, She earlier served four years as at Management Sciences for Health (MSH) as Director of Business Development for the Health Programs Group,  developing and maintaining a robust pipeline of opportunities that included maternal and newborn child health, reproductive health, infectious diseases, and health system strengthening.

Previously served as Director of Business Development at Management Sciences for Development (MSD), later as consultant Technical Writer for UNICEF in the field with Operation Lifeline Sudan, the then-largest UNICEF emergency program based in Nairobi. Ms. McGann also served as corporate lobbyist for a Fortune 500 company; served ten years as a congressional aide on Capitol Hill, and earlier as a legislative aide in the Texas House of Representatives and was a key member of the team that created the first public-private partnership (PPP) - that cemented Austin, Texas as a center of technology and innovation.

Ms. McGann has lived in Australia and Kenya and has travelled and worked in Africa,Asia, Latin America, Europe and the South Pacific. Ms. McGann is a US national, and native Texan, now resides  in Arlington, VA.

George Archie Ayeh

Global Health Programming

George Ayeh is currently the CEO of Longwood Healthcare - developing and leading ground breaking approaches and strategies to eliminate barriers to care and to deliver quality health care services to the low income population groups in high density communities.  

George had been part of senior management of Partners In Health with a strong focus on healthcare, and he oversaw multimillion-dollar healthcare budgets funded by Global Fund, Skoll Foundation, Irish Aid, and worked closely with governments leading maternal and child health, MDR-TB, HIV/AIDS and primary health care improvement programs. Widely recognized for his close collaboration with government entities for leading the Lesotho Rural Initiative Project, Community-Based MDR-TB program in Lesotho a project that has later become the center of excellence, George was instrumental in conceptualizing and leading the development and implementation of the Lesotho Health Reforms in partnership with the Ministry of Health of Lesotho. This reform minimized the wastage bill in the health system, enhanced facility utilization, increased facility-based deliveries and reduced maternal deaths significantly. George also co-programmed the framework for the multi-billion dollar cross border initiative to address TB among Southern African mine-workers

Megh Raj

Global Health diplomacy, policy and advocacy and the President

A global health-focused physician, strategist and  advocate for universal health care, health-financing, and global health security spent over 30 years blending science and practice in designing, developing and managing innovative, relevant and  responsive health programs that strengthen and sustain public and private sector health systems in African communities  beleaguered  with disease burden, vulnerable health and fragile health systems.

Also an active advocate of implementation of the Declaration of Alma Ata 1978, health equity and WHO-framework of building blocks of Health System Strengthening approaches that transcend and unite multiple sectors and tiers of health facilities and community to deliver quality  services through population-centric approaches rather than disease-focused to influence positive health outcomes in the communities. 

Widely recognized for his  position on ethics, human rights and law, public health diplomacy, evidence-based policy research and analysis for global health governance, Megh facilitated articulation of health policies, national strategic plans and health-economics ensuring health equity and Universal Health Care.

Mo -Mohammed Alhaj

Global Health epidemiology and quality assurance

Mohammad Alhaj is a Jordanian medical doctor by training. He began his professional career as a practicing physician on a cruise ship Cunard. He then continued his education in Canada, completing his Master in Public Health with specialty in epidemiology at the University of Toronto.  Over the past couple of years, Mohammad has shifted his career focus to HIV service delivery in global health settings. Recently, he worked as a Quality Improvement fellow at AMPATH in Kenya, where he developed an electronic database to analyze Site Improvement through Monitoring System (SIMS) data. Currently, Mo is working with the research department at Diginats International on evaluating the impact of the WHO Universal Test and Treat guidelines in Malawi.

Surinder Kaul

Global Health education, innovation and programming in the areas of MNCH, nutrition and

community-focused WATSAN

Surinder’s vast international experience in international health spans across four decades in over 15 countries spread across Africa, Europe, Midle-East and Asia and Oceana. He oversaw diverse programming areas including: Reproductive Health, including Maternal and Child health and Sexually Transmitted Infections with special emphasis on HIV/AIDS, Health Needs assessment and prioritization of populations, Epidemiological studies. and Public Health training of graduate and post graduate doctors, nurses and other paramedical staff through academic, onsite and Distant Learning

Surinder’s academic pursuits include teaching assignments in the areas of community medicine, supervision of public health post-graduate students, and independent consultancies. His research pursuits include: Role of Low dose anticoagulants in the primary prevention of ischemic heart disease ‑ a feasibility study in a selected general practice population; Development of General Practice Morbidity Database into a Public  Health Common Data Set, among many others

Tankiso Phori

Organizational Development and Capacity Building

Tankiso Phori received BSc Hon degree in psychology from the University of East London in the United Kingdom and Menonite Institute in Pennsylvania, USA. Deeply concerned about people’s welfare and development, Phori pursued Social Sciences and Welfare  Phori’s 15 years of experience as youth leader, activist, advocate and writer also focused on strengthening capacity of civil society organizations including youth organizations.

Several organizations he served in key positions include: Lesotho Youth Federation, Save the Children (UK) – Lesotho and Management Sciences for Health, and documenting the state of children United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN-CRC) Phori founded Vision Research Consultants firm that currently provides institutional capacity development to NGOs

Vineeth Vasudeva Murthy

Health Economics and Research

Vineeth Murthy is a development economist, currently serving as a technical advisor at the  National Statistical Office (NSO) of Malawi.  At the NSO, Vineeth leads the designing, planning and implementation of Malawi’s population and housing census. Prior to joining the NSO, Vineeth worked at the World Bank in Washington DC. Here, he developed the World Bank’s gender data portal and also led capacity development of parliaments in public finance oversight in the Asia- Pacific region.

Vineeth began his career in international development in the Indian Parliament on a pioneering initiative to build legislative capacity in India. He holds a Master’s degree in International Relations at the George Washington University and is an Overseas Development Institute (ODI) Fellow.