Virginia holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) from the University of Free-State, South Africa and completed a Master of Science (MSc) in Clinical Tropical Medicine at Nagasaki University, Japan. She has extensive clinical experience and program management skills in HIV medicine from her experience as a clinician and site manager at the Princess Marina Hospital, Infectious Disease Care Center, which is the first and largest HIV Clinic in Botswana. She managed inpatient and outpatients with infectious diseases, mostly HIV/AIDS and its complications, tuberculosis and hepatitis. She also managed the HIV treatment failure clinic for treatment-experienced patients. Virginia also holds a Diploma in HIV Management from Colleges of Medicine of South Africa, Clinical Management of HIV from University of Washington, and a Diploma in Research and Development of Products from Nagasaki University. She was awarded the Bristol-Myers Squibb Exchange Fellowship (United Kingdom) in 2012 and the Arthur Ashe Endowment for the Defeat of AIDS Fellowship (New York, USA) in 2013. Currently, she is the manager of the Botswana National Cancer Registry within the Non-Communicable Diseases Program, Public Health at the Ministry of Health headquarters. She oversees cancer registry information management, develops policies and strategies, and is involved in maintaining uniformity and continuity of surveillance and registration of cancers. Her interests include clinical and operational research in HIV and malignancies, program development, and management to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases, especially cancers, in low resource settings.

Mophuthi is a Senior Lecturer in the Midwifery Program at the Institute of Health Sciences in Gaborone, Botswana. She is interested in health systems research and the health policy towards promotion of the sexual and reproductive health of communities, especially for vulnerable groups such as youth, the elderly, and people living with disabilities. She led a team that won a research grant from the Tertiary Education Council of Botswana which aimed to build capacity for the Health Training Institutions. Mophuthi has participated in the Midwifery Program Curriculum Review where she successfully led a team that analyzed the Needs Analysis Data and spearheaded organization of content for the development of a Community Midwifery Care course plan. She participated in the secondary data analysis of the Botswana Impact Survey IV (BAIS IV), an initiative of the Ministry of Health, the University of Botswana and Ohio University to build capacity for the health professionals of Botswana. She has participated as a member of the scientific committee in preparation for the SENNAM BIENNIAL Conference in Botswana and the Health Training Institutions’ International Research Conference. She serves as a mentor for the newly appointed Midwifery Lecturers and has participated as a member of the taskforce to draft the Item Writing Manual for the Institute of Health Sciences Gaborone. Mophuthi is a member of the Botswana Nurses Union and Sigma Theta Tau International.

Oduetse holds a dual MD/MPH degree from St. George’s University, Grenada. She previously worked as a medical officer in Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital in Botswana. She is currently working as Head of Preventive Services in Serowe District Health Management Team (SDHMT) in the Ministry of Health in Botswana. In her current position, Oduetse oversees the planning, implementation, and evaluation of programs geared towards disease prevention. She actively took part in the national STEPS survey for non-communicable diseases in 2014 as a district supervisor for three districts, Palapye, Serowe, and Boteti. Oduetse believes in empowering the community with health issues and engaging them in designing of interventions relevant for their settings. She is also trained as a Trainer of Trainers (TOT) in different preventive programs. She also chairs several district committees involving health and other stakeholders.

Monicah holds a Master in Nursing Science (MSc) and Honours in Advanced Midwifery and Neonatology from Stellenbosch University in Cape Town, South Africa. She is currently a Senior Lecturer at Bamalete Lutheran School of Nursing teaching midwifery specialty. Monicah is interested in neonatal care research. She is interested in promoting research findings and evidence in health care policy and practice in neonatal care in Botswana. She aims to investigate and address major bottlenecks that impede effective implementation, to test new approaches to improve health programming, and to determine causal relationship between the intervention and impact. She has worked as a research midwife at the Effective Care Research Unit in collaboration with the World Health Organization. She researched the effectiveness of Misoprostol in prevention of Post-Partum Hemorrhage and presented it at the 2014 International Nursing Conference in Cape Town, South Africa.

Nsong has a Doctor of Medicine (MD) from the University of Buea. He has significant experience in family planning and reproductive health, maternal, newborn and child health, and integrated management of childhood illnesses in both development and humanitarian public health contexts. He has carried out community health interventions including supervising vaccination campaigns and health education on diseases of public health interest. He put in place a health reporting and data collection system in a subdivision hospital, set up and organized mobile clinics and temporary health units, and managed a primary medical facility. Nsong has served on the working group for planning, design, and implementation of immunization projects on a district and regional scale. He participated in the national working group led by the Ministry of Health on malaria for the nationwide distribution of long-lasting insecticidal bed nets. He was part of the working group that developed policies on integrating refugees into the indigenous public health coverage in the three northern and the eastern regions. As the Deputy Coordinator of the Women’s Health Project, a reproductive health and family planning project with ACMS Cameroon (an affiliate of PSI and a USAID-funded project), Nsong led a team to increase health coverage resulting in a measurable decrease in maternal mortality. Nsong is currently pursuing an online Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Roehampton.

Gladys holds a Master in Public Health (MPH) from the University of Buea. She is a nurse and public health practitioner. Her interests lie in project management, implementation science, and development of adolescent-friendly health policies. Gladys worked with the HIV Free NW/SW project implemented by Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services to organize, coordinate, and supervise service delivery and implement innovative strategies, PITC, and family model of care to increase identification, initiation, retention and ART uptake for children/adolescents living with HIV in South West Region of Cameroon. She also worked with Baptist Hospital in Mutengene to plan, coordinate, and supervise nursing care services.

Wenjuan holds a PhD from Central South University Xiangya School of Nursing. She completed postdoctoral training in pathology at Central South University School of Basic Medicine. She is junior faculty at the Central South University Xiangya School of Nursing. Her area of focus is prevention and health promotion for cervical cancer. She did research in quality of life for cervical cancer survivors and predictors of recurrent risk for early stage cervical cancer. Currently, she is conducting research in promoting cervical cancer screening among the rural Chinese population and investigating cervical cancer risk factors in patients from rural areas. She is also co-mentoring an African graduate student from South Sudan to develop a study in promoting cervical cancer screening for low-income women.

Lucy is a Nursing Officer with a Master of Science in Nursing (MScN) Pediatrics from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. She is currently pursuing a PhD in the same field from the University of Nairobi. She is a Clinical Instructor of nursing students from the surrounding higher learning institutions and stationed in Bahati Sub-County Hospital in Nakuru, Kenya. Lucy also coordinates community activities at the hospital and serves as the community link.

Serah holds a Master of Medicine (MMed) in Pediatrics and Child Health from the University of Nairobi and is currently undertaking a PhD in Epidemiology at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. She is a practicing pediatrician and a Senior Assistant Director of Medical Services in the Ministry of Health, currently working in Nyandarua County. Her roles include planning, implementation, and supervision of pediatric and child health services and the provision of clinical services in the JM Kariuki County and the North Kinangop Mission Hospitals. Her interests are in epidemiological and implementation research especially in the field of maternal, newborn, and child health. Serah is also very passionate about patient safety, especially in regard to the prevention of healthcare-associated infections. She is a member of the North Kinangop Hospital Patient Safety Committee which is responsible for spearheading the WHO-African Partnership for Patient Safety (APPS) Program. She is an advocate of hand hygiene, and in 2012 introduced the local production and use of an alcohol-based hand rub in her workstation, which led to improved hand hygiene compliance and a marked reduction in the incidence of nosocomial infections.

Thomas is a physician and public health specialist with interest in chronic disease management and policy formulation. His research interests include diabetes mellitus, hypertension, HIV/AIDS, and oncology. In addition to being a general physician conducting daily clinical ward rounds, teaching medical students, and running outpatient clinics in chronic disease, Thomas also works on several chronic disease community outreach programs covering the entire western part of Kenya. Thomas is part of the teams that develop program work plans, performance indicators, clinical management training manuals, and disease management algorithms. Thomas is the main physician mentor on these programs and consistently evaluates the programs’ performance based on the work plan performance indicators. Since November 2013, he has regularly provided reports to the top managers of the programs.

Aisa holds a Doctor of Medicine (MD) and has a Master in Public Health (MPH) from Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Science. She has more than 10 years’ experience in HIV and AIDS services. She currently leads the Quality Improvement Unit at Management and Development for Health guiding program planning and strengthening regional and district management teams to coordinate quality improvement (QI) activities and Training of Trainers (TOT) in HIV/AIDS. She is also a member of National QI Technical working group. She has done a number of research and operational studies in HIV care in the clinical monitoring of patients, patient and health workers satisfaction, retention, supportive supervision, and mentorships and community facility services.

Eliaichi is a current Afya Bora Fellow in Global Health Leadership at the Management Development for Health and a dermatologist and venereologist at Muhimbili Hospital in Tanzania. She holds a Master’s from the Regional Dermatology Training Centre in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania in 2007, and a diploma in tropical medicine from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She specializes in sexually transmitted infections, leprosy, and prevention of cutaneous malignancies in persons with albinism. She lectures for two programs in Tanzania and is a member of the National STI Control Program committee of the Ministry of Health.

Baraka is a registered nurse and a Bioethicist. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) in 2009 and a Master of Bioethics from the University of Pennsylvania (USA) in 2012. At MUHAS, he participates in developing, conducting, and disseminating research findings, supervising undergraduate students’ clinical practices, and supervising students in their research projects and fieldworks. He also coordinates the International Exchange Program at the School of Nursing. Baraka is a member of School of Pharmacy Board and a representative of School of Nursing in the Department of Quality Improvement at MUHAS. He teaches courses on therapeutic communication skills for BSc. Nursing, midwifery for BSc. Nursing & BSc. midwifery, nursing leadership & management for BSc. Nursing & BSc. Midwifery, professionalism and ethics for all first years at MUHAS. He also supervises nursing research for BSc. Nursing & BSc. Midwifery and MBE students in their research projects.

Emmanuel has a PhD in Theoretical Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Japan. He holds a Master in Medical Sciences (MMed) in Public Health and Health Economics from the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Tanzania. Before venturing into research and academia, he worked as a Curriculum Assistant with the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) Tanzania. Currently, he is a Lecturer in Biostatistics and Applied Epidemiology in the Department of Global Health and Biomedical Sciences of the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) in Arusha, Tanzania. His research focus is in the area of One Health with a strong quantitative focus. He works with a number of partners working in One Health from Africa, Europe, and the United States. From 2014 to 2016 he analyzed the health and economic impact of Aflatoxins in Tanzania for the African Union Commission’s Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (PACA).

Scovia is a Lecturer in the Department of Nursing, Makerere University. Scovia is finalizing her PhD studies in reproductive health and has a Master in Population and Reproductive Health from Makerere University. Her research interests and experience are in adolescent health, sexual and reproductive health, HIV, quality of life, working environments, and medical and nursing education.

Patience holds a PhD from the University of Leeds, UK and a Master of Nursing Science from Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda. She also holds a post graduate qualification in Project Planning and Management (PPM) and another in Higher Education Leadership and Management (HELM). She is a Lecturer in the School of Health Sciences at Makerere University and a practicing trauma and critical care nurse specialist. She is passionate about designing and affecting capacity building programs for nurses and midwives. She is also interested in implementation research with a focus on innovation, clinical evidence-based practice, curriculum development for emerging diseases, continuous professional development (CPD) for nurses and supporting students in development of low cost phone and web based applications for improvement of treatment and care of infectious diseases including HIV.

Esther holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) from Makerere University, Uganda and a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Melbourne, Australia. Esther is currently a program manager for the pediatric and adolescent HIV care project in the outreach department at the Infectious Diseases Institute. Her main interests are in implementation research with a focus of translating research into policy and strengthening health systems in both the public and private health sector. Esther has worked in program design, research and implementation of TB/HIV programs, elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV and most recently scaling up pediatric and adolescent HIV programs. Recent efforts have seen the number of HIV positive children in care increase by 30% in focus districts and a great improvement in the quality of services that children receive.

Alida holds a Doctor of Medicine (MD) and a Master in Public Health (MPH) from Case Western Reserve University. She is currently pursuing a Master in Epidemiology (MSc) through the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine distance learning program. Alida completed two years of internal medicine residency at Johns Hopkins University and two years of family medicine residency at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a board certified family medicine physician. She has been practicing in Washington State for the past two years working with King County Public Health and Swedish Family Medicine Residency.

Florence is a current Afya Bora Fellow in Global Health Leadership in Nairobi, Kenya. In 2010, she received her Master’s degree in Nursing from the University of Washington, Seattle. She is an Advanced Registered Adult Nurse Practitioner specializing in acute and chronic pain. In the past, she worked at the University of Washington’s Department of Anesthesia & Pain Medicine on the inpatient pain service. She is interested in merging technology and evidence-based practice to improve the delivery of quality care, improving pain management using non-opioid options, and forming interdisciplinary networks.

William holds a Doctor of Health Science (DHSc) in Global Health from the A.T. Still University in Mesa, Arizona, and a Master of Public Health (MPH) from A.T. Still University in Kirksville, Missouri. He is also a trained physician, and has 10 years’ experience working as a senior medical officer with the Specialist Hospital Sokoto, Nigeria participating in clinical work and teaching medical, nursing, and community health students. His passion for disease prevention led Tanyi to partner with the Ministry of Health of the Sokoto State of Nigeria in the fight against the spread of HIV, TB, guinea worm and polio, a position that helped him gain experience in disease surveillance, tracking, and reporting. While in the United States, Tanyi has worked in various capacities as a geriatric care coordinator and supervisor, where he demonstrated in-depth understanding of local, state, and federal laws and regulations regarding quality patient care. He has extensive experience providing excellent hands-on health education, promotion, and patient care both locally and internationally. His passion for infectious disease prevention has inspired him to continue to seek ways of improving vaccine uptake within underserved communities through community outreach programs.

Dr. Kefalotse Dithole is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Nursing at the University of Botswana. She obtained her Doctor of Philosophy and Literature from the University of South Africa, Pretoria in 2014. She received her MSc degree in Critical Care Nursing at University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in 1999. For the past 29 years she has been teaching nurses at diploma, undergraduate, and graduate levels in Botswana. Her research focuses on improving nurse–patient communication in intensive care units in order to improve quality of care. She also focuses on HIV and AIDS prevention in the community. She received the University of Botswana Community Engagement in HIV and AIDS Award in 2016. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society and Botswana Nurses Union.

Mooketsi Molefi holds a Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He is a Medical Doctor and Lecturer in the Department of Family Medicine & Public Health, Faculty of Medicine at the University of Botswana. He focuses on teaching Epidemiology and Biostatistics principles. He also does Epi-info and STATA workshops for the trainees. His research interests are HIV/AIDS, TB, Cryptosporidium and infectious disease modelling and survival analyses. Dr. Molefi has worked with the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) and is now involved in a Gilead sponsored multi-site Crypto clinical trial. He also has recently ventured into time-series analyses for health programs /policy evaluation in Botswana.

Gontse Tshisimogo is a trained physician and received her MD and MPH from St. George’s University in Grenada, West Indies in 2009 and 2007 respectively. She works as a District Program Manager in Bobirwa District Health Management Team in the Ministry of Health in Botswana. In her role, she oversees the implementation of disease prevention, treatment and care programs for the Ministry of Health. She was formally a Medical Officer at Princess Marina Hospital, the largest referral hospital in Botswana. Dr. Tshisimogo research interests are implementation science and reduction of the maternal and child morbidity and mortality through clinical audits of proven interventions at district and national level. Her other interests are project management and health systems strengthening to improve health outcomes.

Lily Haritu Foglabenchi is a Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) Nurse in the AIDS Care Prevention Program of the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services. She has over seven years of clinical, programmatic, research and community health experience in Cameroon and India. She currently oversees the implementation of a PEPFAR funded project that seeks to evaluate the change in unmet contraceptive need among women living with HIV following the integration of family planning into HIV care in Cameroon. Prior to this, she led the design and implementation of mobile clinic projects that provided cervical cancer screening, family planning, HIV counselling and syndromic management of sexually transmitted infections across 55 communities in rural Cameroon. Her work has earned her the Ministry of Health recognition for an Outstanding Contribution to Women’s SRH, the Moremi Initiative Leadership Award and the US Department of State Women in Public Service/Global Health Award. She holds a Master in International Public Health with specialization in SRH from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, England.

Yi-Han Lu holds a PhD of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and a MD of Preventive Medicine from Shanghai Medical School, Fudan University in China. He is continuously interested in the epidemiology of infectious diseases. As an Associate Professor at Fudan University School of Public Health, Dr. Lu works in collaboration with clinicians, lab technicians, and CDC staff in diverse areas to study viruses widespread in China. He is undertaking several grants, including molecular epidemiology and evolutionary dynamics of zoonotic Hepatitis E virus, molecular characterization of Hepatitis C in key populations, and epidemiological pattern of enterovirus causing HFMD and Herpangina. Dr. Lu teaches teaches applied epidemiology to medical and non-medical undergraduates and a molecular epidemiology to graduates students.

Dr. Maturi is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Medicine, University of Nairobi where he has taught for the last nine years. He holds a Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) from Nairobi University. He is a Clinical Pathologist qualified from the University of Nairobi. He has fellowships in Hematology/Oncology and blood transfusion from West Virginia University USA and Emory University USA respectively. He is a member of the College of Pathologist East, Central and South Africa. He was the Lead Technical Advisor for a country wide Center for Disease Control (CDC) project supporting blood safety in Kenya. His research interests are in HIV associated cancers and blood transfusion. He is involved in clinical work at the Kenyatta National Hospital.

Rosa currently works at Kenyatta National Hospital as a Gynecologist and Honorary Lecturer with University of Nairobi. Her interest primarily focuses on quality of maternal health care where she heads the departmental Quality Assurance and Performance Contract Appraisal that ensures promises made to Kenyan women as regards to delivery of maternal health are met as per hospital objectives. Her research interest in evaluating guideline uptake in management of Antepartum Hemorrhage at Garissa County Hospital that showed adherence levels of 36.1% led to sensitization of health workers on the know-do-gap in clinical practice.

Collins Owek holds a Master’s degree in Community Health and Development from Great Lakes University of Kisumu, Kenya. In 2012 he completed a Bachelor in Health System Approaches from the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. He received a diploma in nursing in 1997 from Medical Training College-Kisumu, Kenya and Post-graduate Diploma in Project Management in 2013 at Kenya Institute of Management, Kenya. Mr. Owek has over 14 years of experience in primary health care and HIV program implementation with district health systems and non-governmental organizations in Western Kenya. Currently he is the Program Manager for the Partnership for Innovative Medical Education Program in Kenya (PRIME-K) at the University of Nairobi. In addition, Mr. Owek is a Consultant on MNCH group at the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) and is a Lecturer at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology in Kenya. He’s a member of the Eastern Africa Health Professional Educator’s Association (EAHPEA) as well as a member of Kwanza Kenya Toastmasters Club whose mission is to empower individuals to become effective communicators and leaders.

Ms. Neema Kyamba is a Registered Nurse and a Regional Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health Coordinator working with the Regional Health Management Team of the Kagera Region in Tanzania. She is a public health nurse with a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania in 2004 and Masters’ degree in International Health from University of Bergen, Norway in 2008. Neema become a leader in reproductive, maternal and child health services coordinating Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, family planning, maternal health, new-born health and child health services in the Kagera Region. Under her leadership she has been a great support in promoting family planning services and data quality improvement on reproductive health services and in Kagera Region. Neema is passionate and highly involved in PMTCT programs, family planning interventions, new-born health programs and in-service trainings.

Ms. Mushy is an Assistant Lecturer at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in the School of Nursing. She holds a Master’s degree in Midwifery and Women’s Health from Makerere University, Uganda since 2014 and received her BSN from Muhimbili University in 2009. Since 2015 Ms. Mushy is also working with Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Gynecology and Obstetrics (Jhpiego) as a lead trainer in the Helping Babies Breathe and Helping Mothers Survive Bleeding after Birth trainings. Her research work is focused on reproductive health issues he most recent project looked “Factors Associated with Underutilization of Emergency Contraception among Young Women in the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.”

Denis Mzaga is the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at National AIDS Control Program in Tanzania. He is a Medical Doctor by training and received his MD from Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in 2009. He received his Master’s degree in International Health at Boston University School of Public Health in 2013. At National AIDS Control Programme he provides assistance both programmatic and in clinical direction in implementation of monitoring and evaluation in HIV management. He works as Global Fund Monitoring and Evaluation Officer for the Program. He researched on the improvement on access to HIV care and treatment in Tanzania and presented the results in 20th International AIDS Conference.

Dr. Sunguya is a Lecturer at the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Tanzania and a Visiting Lecturer in the University of Tokyo, Japan, and University of Western Cape in South Africa. He is a medical doctor, graduated in 2006 at the University of Dar es salaam, and holds Masters degree in International Health and Doctoral degree in Global Health from the University of Tokyo. He has a ten years’ experience in nutrition, health systems, and HIV/AIDS research. He has disseminated his research work widely in 21 peer reviewed research articles, 3 book chapters, and international conferences in Africa, Asia, and Australia. He has worked with the Ministry of Health and World Health Organization in the revision of National policies and implementation guidelines in nutrition, maternal and child health, and infectious diseases in Tanzania.

Ms. Ayebare is a Lecturer at the Department of Nursing, Makerere University. She received a Bachelor’s of Nursing degree in 2004 and a Master of Nursing (Midwifery and Women’s Health) degree of Makerere University in 2014. She holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Child Nursing from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. She has special interest in maternal and child health, particularly preterm birth and newborn care. She is a member of the Sigma Theta Tau International Nurses Honor Society and the Deputy Country Lead for the Lugina Africa Midwifery Research Network (LAMRN). Ms. Ayebare has worked with nurses and midwives in Uganda to improve clinical care for patients through audits, skills training and mentorship.

Ms. Hanifah Nantongo holds a Bachelor of Nursing Science and a Master of Science in Pharmacology from Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) in Uganda. She is a Teaching Assistant at MUST in the Department of Nursing and has 5 years teaching experience in nursing education which involves a community health aspect. Her involvement in the teaching of students in the community and interaction with the local people has contributed to her engagement in research to address community challenges. She has carried out research on retention of community health workers (also known as village health teams [VHT]) that mobilizes the community for HIV/AIDS care and providing care for children under-five years of age with diarrhea, pneumonia and fever. Hanifah has special interest in improving the use of medicines in communities as a strategy to the fight against antimicrobial resistance.

Ms. Olwit Connie is a Nurse and a Lecturer at in the Department of Nursing, Makerere University in Uganda. She holds a Master’s degree in Mental Health Nursing from Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences and a Master’s degree in Public Mental Health from University of Cape Town. Ms. Olwit received her Bachelors’ degree in Nursing from Makerere University. Her research work is focused on Chronic Sorrow among caregivers of patients with chronic conditions and stigma towards patients living with chronic mental disorders. Ms. Olwit desires to improve mental health service delivery in Uganda.

Dr. Namusoke-Magongo holds a Master’s degree in Pediatrics and Child Health from Makerere University in Uganda. She is currently the Program Officer for Pediatric HIV Services at the AIDS Control Program, Ministry of Health. Her role includes policy development, planning, coordinating, and supervising pediatric HIV services in the country. In 2014, she led the team to implement the national policy for the Test & Treat approach for all HIV infected children. In 2015, she led the process of developing the national mentorship framework for HIV services. She is a member of the National Pediatric ART Subcommittee that provides technical assistance to the Ministry of Health in pediatric and adolescent HIV services. In 2012, she was trained as an “Emerging Voice for Global Health” in China by a global program that mentors young researchers.

Dr. Radha Karnad is a UK trained doctor (from the University of Southampton) with a Masters in Public Health (Health Service Management) from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She is passionate about maternal and reproductive health, and believes that it is only by improving health systems that we will find solutions to global public health problems and improve access to health. Most recently, she worked for three years as Clinical Programs Manager at Jacaranda Health, a chain of maternity hospitals offering low cost and high quality maternity services. At Jacaranda, Dr. Karnad was responsive for organizational health systems strengthening through addressing the quality of service delivery, cutting costs, developing quality improvement programs, and capacity building for health service providers. She is an experienced project manager and team leader, and has built and maintained local and international stakeholder relationships. Her wide breadth of experience encompasses clinical medicine in hospital and community settings, health care management, quality of care program development, clinical training and education, and healthcare consulting.

Dr. Sarah Puryear is a physician with interests in global health and infectious disease. She completed medical school and the Osler Internal Medicine residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. She has worked in Botswana, South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana. Her research interests have ranged from tuberculosis contact tracing in Botswana to HIV care cascades in Baltimore to complications of HIV/TB coinfection in South Africa. During residency, she completed clinical rotations in Klerksdorp, South Africa and Pune, India and helped to develop a global health track within the residency program.

Katherine Reed holds a Master’s in Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania and a Masters of International Public Health from Boston University. She is a Nurse Practitioner, board certified in Family Practice and Orthopedics. Katherine has spent the last 5 years in specialty clinical practice in orthopedic surgery, primarily joint replacement in Boise, Idaho and pediatric orthopedics in Tacoma, Washington. Prior to that, she worked providing primary care services in a community health center in Hilo, Hawaii as part of her work commitment to the National Health Service Corps. In 2014-15, she spent 4 months volunteering for CURE International in Kijabe, Kenya; Lusaka, Zambia; and Blantyre, Malawi. CURE is an American Christian mission organization that specializes in providing orthopedic and other surgical services to children with injuries and disabilities. Katherine has specific interests in trauma care, access to affordable surgical services in resource poor settings, injury prevention, and the impact of HIV/AIDS on recovery from surgery.

Dr. Wame Dikobe has over 3 years experience working in the Botswana health sector in both rural and urban settings. She holds a dual MD/MPH degree from St. George’s University, Grenada, and is currently working towards registering as a Public Health Specialist, by fulfilling a two year attachment gaining practical experience in the Botswana context. Prior to this, she worked as an Accident and Emergency Medical Officer at Princess Marina Hospital, the largest referral public hospital in the country. Dr. Dikobe also has a passion for operational research, especially in TB/HIV. During her studies in the US, she co-authored a publication under the mentorship of Freya Spielberg, RTI International and University of Washington, that had programmatic implications for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) HIV testing recommendations. In her current role, as the district program manager she provides oversight of implementation of all national public health programs. This involves planning, budgeting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all the programs to ensure delivery of essential services. She is also conducting a community project aimed at improving community TB care (CTBC), in collaboration with the Botswana National TB program (BNTP) and CDC Botswana. She is also a member of the National Malaria Technical Working Group. Dr Dikobe’s interests are health systems strengthening, health policy , program management and operational research.

Bayengemali Rosemary Munyere holds a Master of Public Health from Medical University of Southern Africa and BSc Nutrition & Dietetics with State Registration in Dietetics from the Robert Gordon University. She is a Clinical Dietitian at Nyangabgwe Hospital, Francistown. She currently heads the department which comprises of inpatient, outpatient and a nutrition rehabilitation program. She was part of the team that started a nutrition rehabilitation program for care of children with malnutrition infected and affected with HIV/AIDS at Princess Marina Hospital and Nyangabgwe Hospital. The program enrolls children from 0-18 years with malnutrition. Ms. Munyere was appointed as a health quality surveyor (inspector) for licensing health facilities and for compliance with the good standards of practice.

Malebogo Pusoentsi holds a Masters of Public Health degree from University of Newcastle Australia with a primary basic training in Medicine. She is a Public Health registrar having specialized in chronic disease epidemiology and global health, and her interest is effective and sustainable integration of chronic Non-Communicable Disease through continuum patient care in primary health care, focusing on cancer control. Malebogo currently works in the Ministry of Health as the manager of Botswana National Cancer Registry within Non Communicable disease program. She has worked at national level in developing policy, strategies and monitoring implementation of various programs within the Disease control division, health promotion and sexual and reproductive health, and worked with various non-governmental organizations such as Cancer association of Botswana in improving and raising priority for Non communicable disease. Currently she is working on improving surveillance and registration of cancer at all levels of care for improved patient care and public health planning.

Dr. Miriam Sebego is a Lecturer at the University of Botswana, School of Nursing. She holds a PhD in Nursing from the University of Rochester, Rochester, New York. Miriam also obtained a Master of Nursing Science (MNS) from University of Pennsylvania and Bachelor of Education in Nursing from the University of Botswana. She is currently serving as the Vice Chairperson of the Botswana Hospice and Palliative Care Association (BHPCA), a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Society, and the Botswana Nurses Union. Her research interests are palliative care, family care giving and road traffic Injuries. Miriam has special interest in program development, project management and research.

Evaline Langat holds a Master of Public Health from Flinders University, Australia. She chairs the research coordinating unit within the department of health, Kilifi County where their goal is to provide leadership for the use of evidence based research as an integral component for decision making within the department of health. Her interests lies in the use of research evidence and data in health policy formulations. Evaline has a passion for maternal and child health where apart from conducting researches that influenced maternal health service delivery at the facility level, she has worked as a midwife in a level 4 facility for a period of 5 years.

Drusilla Makworo holds a PhD in Pediatric Nursing from the University of Nairobi. She is a paediatric nurse specializing in family centered care. Dr Makworao’s interests are in partnership in care between the healthcare providers, the sick children and their families with a major focus on involvement of siblings and peers in the care of the sick child. Drusilla worked with the Ministry of Health, the Nursing Council of Kenya where she steered the initiation and development of the distance learning programme for the training of nurses in Kenya and also the start of the paediatric training programme for nurses. Dr. Makworo worked with Kenyatta University and currently she is working with Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology where she is the Chair, Department of Community Health Nursing. Further, Dr. Makworo is a fellow with the African Population Health Research Centre (APHRC) and a committed member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Other research interests’ areas include neonatal, child and adolescent health and the care of the people with special needs.

Lilian Mbau is a Medical Doctor with extensive experience working in public, private and faith-based institutions. She is a public health practitioner with specialization in epidemiology and disease control. Her area of interest is Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) specifically focusing on developing evidence based interventions to decrease the burden of NCDs in low resource settings. Dr. Mbau currently works with African Medical and Research Foundation in Kenya (AMREF) initially managing a comprehensive HIV Prevention, Care and Treatment project in Kibera. She is now managing a project on hypertension specifically looking at ways to leverage on the existing resources in the HIV program to expand non-communicable disease prevention and treatment in low resource areas. She has also successfully completed a Master Degrees program on Global Executive Master of Business Administration in health (GEMBA- Health) at the United States International University (USIU) where she graduated top in her class. With the shift of focus and disease burden to non-communicable in low resource countries, Dr. Mbau hopes to contribute to increasing the capacity of local global health leaders to manage and reverse this alarming trends.

Dr. Ng’arng’ar holds a Masters Degree in Medicine in Paediatrics and Child Health (MMed) from the University of Nairobi. He is a a practicing Sonsultant Paediatrician working with the Ministry of Health in Kenya at the position of Senior Assistant Director of Medical Services currently seconded to Vihiga County government and stationed at the County Referral Hospital. Dr. Ng’arng’ar is a member of the Executive Hospital Management team and deputize the County Hospital in-Charge (medical superintendent). is a member of the Kenya Paediatric Association (KPA) Policy and Advocacy Committee through which they champion child health and peadiatrics issues in the Kenyan healthcare system. He also has interest in operational research and has participated in such studies which are done through a collaboration of the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust, Kenya Paediatric Association and some Kenyan public hospitals including Vihiga County Referral Hospital.

Stephen holds a PhD in Environmental Science from Jackson State University. He is a Lecturer at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), and his interest is in environmental factors associated with cancer. Stephen worked at Meharry Medical Center in Nashville Tennessee investigating the role of Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR) in Breast Progression by validating the AhR as a new predictive clinical marker and a unique target for designing novel selective inhibitors for therapeutic intervention of metastatic breast cancer. Previously Dr. Kishinhi worked in the area of water quality assessment where he established a biomarker in evaluating possible sources of human fecal contamination in Pearl River/Ross Barnett Reservoir and Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Mississippi.

Edward Kumakech is an Advanced Nurse Practitioner who gaind PhD degree in Medical Science with specialization in Health and Caring Sciences from Örebro University Sweden. He does research in HIV, HPV and cervical cancer prevention by post-exposure prophylaxis, screening integration and vaccination in Uganda. Dr. Kumakech has worked for Programme for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) in Uganda Multi-Project Office, where he was heavily involved in designing, implementing, operations research and evaluating HPV and cervical cancer prevention through HPV vaccination, cervical precancer screening by VIA and preventive treatment by Cryotherapy and HPV DNA-based cervical cancer screening programs in Africa. As PATH he has provided technical assistance in HPV and cervical cancer prevention by HPV vaccination, screening by VIA and preventive treatment by cryotherapy and HPV DNA testing program design to Ministry of Health of Uganda and other African countries including Rwanda. Before joining PATH, Dr. Kumakech worked as a Lecturer in Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda for 6 years. Dr. Kumakech received his Master of Public Health degree from Lund University Sweden and Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Uganda.

Magdalena Lyimo holds a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS, before joining graduate school at Darmouth College, USA. For her PhD, she studied HIV pathogenesis and immunology with a focus on mother to child transmission of HIV through breast milk. She works in the Department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion in MUHAS where she facilitates the curriculum for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Dr. Lyimo has an interest in transfusion medicine and works closely with the National Blood Transfusion Service in Tanzania. She has been involved in developing of transfusion policy and guidelines as well as research in this area. In addition, Dr. Lyimo is the secretary of the Medical Women’s Association in Tanzania whose main focus is advocating for and provision of health services to women, and the advancement of women health professionals.

Paul Magesa Mashauri holds a Masters of Science in Nursing (MScN) degree from Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) in Tanzania. He is a general Nurse Practitioner specializing in mental health, and he is interested in global health and providing leadership for change in the health sector. Magesa has worked with the Ministry of Health in a number of activities to mention some he participated in reviewing the Nursing and Midwifery act 2010 and its regulations, reviewed the scheme of service 2009, establishment of intern nurses’ regulation. Magesa is also serving as the president of the Tanzania National Nurses Association for the past three years at voluntary basis through election, in this period several changes in the nursing fraternity has happened including the re-establishment of the directorate of Nursing at the Ministry of Health, active participation of nurses in policy development, unifying nurses with audible voice. Furthermore, Magesa is currently serving as the Head of school of Nurse Teachers also as a board member to represent the East, Central and Southern Africa in the Commonwealth Nurses and Midwifery Federation.

Shally Mwashemele is a medical doctor with a Master's Degree in Public Health from Umea University, in Sweden. Her interests lie at the junction of health, systems and technology. She worked with the Emergency Medical Department at Muhimbili National Hospital where she attended to patients with emergency conditions for more than two years. Dr. Mwashemele has been a volunteer to several organizations and currently is a volunteer at Kiota Women Health & Development Association (KIWOHEDE) where she uses her knowledge in health to educate young girls in vulnerable conditions.

Irene Biraro-Seguya holds an MPhil HIV/AIDS Management from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa and a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton in Kenya. She has over 20 years’ experience working as a nurse in various roles including medical-surgery, staff development, management and leadership in Uganda, Australia, and Botswana. She currently works as Health Systems Strengthening Advisor for the USAID funded Strengthening Uganda’s Systems for Treating AIDS Nationally Project (USAID/SUSTAIN), based in Kampala, Uganda. Her work focuses on enhancing human resource planning and implementing strategies to improve employee engagement. She also supports the hospitals to improve their HR management practices, utilizing quality improvement approaches to improve workforce productivity. She is keenly interested in performance management and finding innovative ways to work with available resources to improve the quality of health service delivery.

Phillip Kasirye Gitta holds Masters Degree of Medicine in Paediatrics & Child Health from Makerere University-Kampala, Uganda. He is a Specialist Paediatrician who has worked in several urban and rural, government and nongovernment organization clinical settings. He has specializes in a with a wide range of paediatric disease conditions over the past 9 years including HIV, Malaria, diarrhea and respiratory tract infections, genetic/ hereditary conditions, research and preventive medicine. He currently heads the Mulago Sickle Cell Clinic which is the oldest and largest centre for sickle cell in Uganda. He has participated in many health improvement drives campaigns that have included radio and TV programs on specifically on HIV, sickle cell and hemophilia. He also works as an Honorary Lecturer in the Department of Paediatrics at the national referral and teaching hospital, Mulago Hospital. He has also participated in newborn health programs and trained several workers in both rural and urban areas in Uganda.

Stella Zawedde is a Medical Doctor with 12 years experience in public health. She holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) degree from Mbarara University of Science and Technology and a Master’s in Public Health (MPH) from Makerere University Kampala, Uganda. Stella has a special interest in Implementation Science and Health Systems Strengthening. She has worked on several projects to improve healthcare delivery for TB, HIV and Malaria both in the public and the private sector in Uganda. Over the past 3 years, she has become particularly interested in improving care processes for patients with tuberculosis and has worked on two different projects to improve TB Case Detection and Treatment in rural Uganda. She has also worked with a project in Kampala that focused on improving access to TB care services for vulnerable populations living in the slum areas of Kampala and four surrounding districts. Dr. Stella managed all these projects and was responsible for designing and overseeing implementation of interventions, human and financial resources management and creating monitoring and evaluation frameworks.

Dr. Ogechi James holds a Bachelor of Nursing degree from Johns Hopkins University Maryland, MD degree from the University of Maiduguri Nigeria, an MPH from New York Medical College Valhalla and a Certificate in Global Health delivery Effectiveness from Harvard University Massachusetts. Dr. James practiced as an MD in the Primary Care setting in Nigeria and Libreville Gabon for several years where she was engaged in Health systems comparism, health education, health promotion and disease prevention especially in HIV/AIDS before going into Public health. As the International Program Manager of an NGO, she designed and implemented extensive health promotion, disease prevention and health education awareness programs intended to reduce HIV/AIDS related stigma that still hold people from getting treatment. Dr.James also, started and managed a health care agency that educated people on effective disease management and health promotion. She is interested in the Task Shifting model of the World Health Organization in order to provide care effectively and efficiently in areas that need it most (maternal and child health and HIV/AIDs). She is as well, interested in monitoring and evaluating programs in order to ensure accountability and positive outcome.

Rache Mureau-Haines holds a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) degree from the University of Washington. She is certified as an adult nurse practitioner and critical care clinical nurse specialist. Dr Mureau-Haines has specialized in pain management and delirium prevention and screening. Her interests are in nursing education, and training nurses in implementing evidenced based practice in acute and critical care settings. Dr. Mureau-Haines has also served as an elected officer in the University of Washington Graduate and Professional Student Senate, and as the DNP representative on the School of Nursing Council. Her work there included establishing a mentorship program to foster connections between students and nurses in the community to strengthen nursing visibility.

Dr. Njah, holds an MD from the University of Yaoundé I and an MPH from the University of Pittsburgh, PA. He has over six years of extensive hospital and community clinical experience working as a primary care physician in Cameroon and as an Obstetrics and Gynecology resident in Zimbabwe. He is currently a PhD candidate in Clinical and Translational Science with appointments as a clinical and translational research associate in the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh. His research area of interest is on the role of nano-sized extracellular vesicles in health and disease with a focus on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. This is a progressive, debilitating lung disorder of unknown etiology that currently lacks an effective therapy.

Liz O’Hara holds a Doctorate of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree from the Medical University of South Carolina, and has completed 3 years of clinical residencies. She is a pharmacist specializing in global health, and her interests revolve around community and public health strategies for health systems strengthening. She has worked extensively in Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), Maternal Neonatal and Child Health (MNCH), and supply chain management. Liz has practiced in Kenya for the last two years and worked closely with the Chronic Disease Management (CDM) and Pharmacy teams of AMPATH and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH). There she implemented a mobile medication supply for rural clinics, helped expand access to NCD care, as well as worked with novel group care models in both MNCH and NCD management that integrated microfinance, mobile medication and commodities, and health education. In her time with AMPATH she mentored both American and Kenyan students and interns, rounded in the inpatient general wards at MTRH, worked in the anticoagulation and diabetes clinics, and helped grow the Revolving Fund Pharmacy (RFP) model.

Dr. Garechaba holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa. He works as a Principal Medical Officer in the Sbrana Psychiatric Hospital dealing with a whole range of psychiatric conditions. At Sbrana he has served as the coordinator of the Continuing Medical Education (CME) program. His research interests are related to psychiatric patients and public health issues that are currently ravaging Botswana. He is interested in leadership and is a member of a variety of different committees. He is also the chairperson of the Botswana Junior Doctors Association (BOJUDA). He has used his leadership skills to advocate for changes in administration of calls when junior doctors have done call duties.

Dr. Masupe is a Lecturer in the Department of Public Health Medicine, School of Medicine at the University of Botswana (UB). She holds a Bachelor’s of Medicine and Surgery (MBChB) from the University of Cardiff and a MPH and a MSc in Occupational Medicine from the University of Manchester. She has worked extensively as a clinician in internal medicine and family medicine before specializing in public health. Her focus at UB has been teaching public health to both undergraduate Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) students and occupational health to postgraduate residents specializing in Public Health Medicine. Her subject areas of interest are occupational health, global health care delivery, and quality improvement within health systems through clinical audits and bioethics. She currently has 5 peer reviewed journal publications and 2 conference papers. She holds the following fellowships: Global health care delivery, Harvard School of Public Health, July 2012; Bi-Fogarty Fellowship in intensive course on bioethics and research ethics, John Hopkins University, July 2011; AusAid Fellow: Building health systems research capacity to evaluate and monitor the implementation of the millennium development goals, University of Newcastle, Australia, November 2013.

Ms. Motswagole is a nurse by profession and holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Leeds. She joined the Health Training Institutions in 1989 as a Staff Development Fellow and then obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing Education. She has taught at basic and post-basic levels. She was the Head of Department for Advanced Diploma in Community Health Nursing. This program graduated four cohorts and the curriculum is now under review with an aim to upgrade it to Degree level. Ms. Motswagole holds a Diploma in Quality Audits and has been very instrumental and resourceful in establishing quality structures. She is currently Deputy Principal at Institute of Health Sciences-Molepolole.

Dr. Kibore is a pediatrician with an interest in implementation science particularly in the field of Maternal Neonatal and Child Health. She currently works as the University of Washington (UW) program coordinator for the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) program in Kenya, a collaborative partnership with the University of Nairobi that aims to develop a multidisciplinary program focused on medical education, capacity building and strengthening of implementation science research in Maternal Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) in Kenya. She has previously engaged in clinical research on HIV/AIDS and childhood pneumonia, and research in medical education. She is a part of the team that was awarded a USAID Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) grant which is studying the impact of a simulation based training program in emergency obstetric and neonatal care on neonatal mortality.

Ms. Lekorere is a professional nurse with a master’s degree in public health; specialized in health promotion and international health. She has also completed courses in Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Evidence-Based in Public Health interventions (Japan). Ms. Lekorere worked in a Provincial General Hospital mainly in the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) Department and in the HIV &AIDS Comprehensive Care Center (CCC). Currently, she is working in the National AIDS &STI Control Programme (NASCOP) in Kenya. Her duties involve the development of HIV &AIDS policies, training curricula, implementation manuals and Information, Education and Communication (IEC) Materials. She trains, mentors and supervises health care workers on HIV &AIDS prevention, care and treatment as well as prepares activity budgets and implements them at the national level. Her main interest is strategic leadership in public health programming informed by evidence.

Dr. Liku received a Bachelor’s in Medicine from the University of Nairobi, Kenya in 2007 and a Master’s in Public Health from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland in 2012. She has worked in both public and private institutions in the Kenyan health system, predominantly in emergency care and general practice. She is the program manager for the Kenya Trauma Registries where she collects data to determine burden of injuries, with a focus on how to improve trauma-related health outcomes and public policy.

Dr. Obudho is a public health specialist in HIV programming with a health systems strengthening approach. She is experienced in project cycle management; grant proposal development; HIV technical support; knowledge, policy and advocacy evaluation; and research. She has managed projects funded by USAID, CDC, EU, GF and World Bank. Dr. Obudho has worked as the Deputy Country Director – Programs for Mildmay Kenya (MK); Program Manager/HIV Technical Advisor for Mildmay International Kenya (MIK); Medical Officer – TB/HIV with the International Rescue Committee (IRC); Research Assistant at the Centers for Disease Control and Surveillance/Kenya Medical and Research Institute (CDC/KEMRI); Medical Officer for Ministry of Health (MOH) in Kitale District Hospital and Rift Valley General Provincial Hospital. She attained her Bachelor’s degree of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Nairobi and a Master’s degree in Public Health from Hebrew University, Israel. Other specialized training includes an Executive Health Care Management (EHMP) from Strathmore Business School; Monitoring and Evaluation of Population and Health programs, Population Studies and Research Institute (PSRI) from the University of Nairobi; Gender mainstreaming in health programming- HERAF/KNHRC. Dr. Obudho has also served as a Technical Working group member in various Ministry of Health, HIV-focused working groups.

Ms. Tallam holds a Master’s of Public Health from Kenyatta University in Kenya and a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from University of East Africa, Baraton in Kenya. She is a Senior Nursing Officer working at the Orthopedics Department of Kenyatta National Hospital. She provides nursing care to orthopedic patients, coordinates with health care teams to assess, plan, implement and evaluate patients care plans. She is also engaged in the hospital clinical audits in quality improvements and supervises junior staff and nursing students on clinical placement. In addition, she performs administrative and managerial functions, including budget planning, and facilitates continuous professional development through National Nurses Association of Kenya.

Dr. Mgelea received his Doctor of Medicine degree in 2007 and his Master’s degree in Paediatric and Child Health from Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in 2012. He practices as a paediatric physician at Muhimbili National Hospital. His work is focused on leading multiple quality improvement teams to foster quality of care. Dr. Mgelea has over 7 years of clinical experience with concentrations in Maternal and Newborn Care and Paediatrics and Child Health. He previously worked with multiple international partners including Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Gynaecology and Obstetrics -Tanzania and the Clinton Health Access Initiative-Tanzania as a technical advisor. Currently, he is technical advisor to the Tanzania Health Promotion Support Organization supported by Centres of Disease Control.

Dr. Mwakyusa is a Medical Doctor with a Master’s of Medicine in Ophthalmology from the Muhimbili University College of Health Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. She also holds a Master’s of Public Health from the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She is the Manager of the National Eye Care Program with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in Tanzania and has extensive experience in the control of Neglected Tropical Diseases. Dr. Mwakyusa was the Focal Point of the Ministry of Health in the National Trachoma baseline survey, which was conducted from 2004 to 2006 in 50 districts in Tanzania. She also facilitated training of teams consisting of eight health workers each from 43 trachoma endemic districts on Mass Drug Administration with Azithromycin, one of the components of the SAFE strategy for trachoma control (SAFE: S=Surgery to correct in-turned eye lashes, A=Antibiotic for treating active infection, F=Face washing, E=Environmental improvement). Dr. Mwakyusa led the process of developing the first (2004-2008) and the second (2011-2016) National Eye Care Strategic plans as well as the designing of two eye care projects in Tanzania: (a) Strengthening Eye Care Coordination, and (b) Strengthening of Child Eye Health. These two projects have contributed significantly in raising the profile of eye care within the health care system in the country. She has also spearheaded the designing of an eye care services management information system including its incorporation into the National Health Management Information System.

Dr. Rugemalila is a physician working with the Infectious Diseases Unit, Internal Medicine Department at Muhimbili National Hospital. She graduated from Tumaini University with Doctor of Medicine degree in 2006 and qualified as a specialist in Internal Medicine (MMed) in 2013 from Tumaini Makumira University. She also holds a postgraduate diploma of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Dr. Rugemalila has 6 years’ experience working in clinical practice in management of medical cases, supervising junior doctors in the clinical care of inpatients and outpatients in the Internal Medicine Department. She also participates in research. Dr. Rugemalila has a special interest in clinical research addressing challenges of HIV therapy in resource-limited settings.

Ms. Sariah is an Assistant Lecturer in the Faculty of Nursing at Hubert Kairuki Memorial University (HKMU), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. She has been involved in classroom and clinical teaching; supervising students during their mental health field work as well as conducting research. She earned her Nursing Degree from Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) in 2007. She acquired her MSc Nursing (Mental Health) from the same university in 2012. She is also a fully registered by the Tanzania Nursing and Midwifery Council. Her interests lie in research, policy development, and mental health promotion.

Dr. Kigozi is interested in HIV prevention and management. He is specifically interested in program management and research in HIV and in the use of data generated by clinics and programs in Africa to influence clinical care, inform policy and improve health systems in the African setting. He has experience in drug regulation and research and has coordinated studies on alcohol use in HIV, HIV drug adherence as well as working in a busy HIV clinic. His experience has inspired him to develop advanced research skills so that he can help lead Africa towards improved HIV care, prevention and treatment.

Dr. Kuteesa a Bachelor’s degree in Human Medicine and Surgery from Mbarara University of Science and Technology in Uganda and a master’s degree in International Public Health from the University of Sydney, Australia. Dr. Kuteesa has 8 years’ experience in the field of HIV/AIDS with expertise in clinical care, program implementation, operational and scientific research. She has conducted studies focusing on gender mainstreaming in PMTCT programs nationally and HIV and ageing. She has conducted various programmatic assessments for reproductive health, TB, malaria and health system strengthening programs sponsored by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Dr. Kuteesa currently works with the Medical Research Council Uganda/UVRI Research Unit on AIDS as the project leader for the HIV Combination Prevention trial among fisher folk. Her research interests center on the nexus between issues of ageing and HIV, with a focus on age based inequalities in prevention, treatment and care of HIV, access to care and treatment services. She is also interested in HIV prevention among MARPS and underserved populations as well as the association between chronic infections and non-communicable diseases.

Dr. Namasopo holds a Master’s of Medicine in Paediatrics and Child Health and a Master’s of Public Health from Makerere University. She is a Hospital Director and Consultant Paediatrician involved in policy implementation, public health delivery, program management, advocacy and leadership. Her interests are paediatric infectious diseases, neonatology, health policy adolescent and global health. Dr. Namasopo worked at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital to establish paediatric HIV clinic, special care unit for preterm babies and an Early Infant Diagnosis Care point for follow up of children born to mothers living with HIV. Dr. Namasopo also supported the newly constructed China Uganda Friendship Hospital-Naguru to establish the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health. Currently, in collaboration with researchers from University of Alberta, we are conducting a study on use of Solar Powered Oxygen delivery to children requiring oxygen. We hope this will help to provide life saving oxygen to children in rural areas that are not able to get electricity for oxygen concentrators or with bad roads that make delivery of oxygen cylinders difficult.

Dr. Kaihura received a PhD in Nursing from the University of California San Francisco in 2013. She trained in Tanzania as a registered nurse and midwife from Bugando School of Nursing in 1983, and a Nurse Educator at Muhimbili University of Allied and Health Sciences in 1996. Her research focuses on self-care management of chronic diseases in women living with HIV, especially stigma and quality of life related topics in African women living with HIV. From 1997 to 1998 she was the Principal of Rubya School of Nursing.

Dr. Tenforde completed his medical school training (MD/MPH) at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. He recently finished residency training in internal medicine at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. In medical school, he was involved in HIV education and prevention in Latin America, worked at the GAVI Alliance in Geneva researching vaccine funding mechanisms in low-income countries, and worked with the CDC in Southeast Asia developing a TB infection control package. During residency, his interest continued in TB and HIV. His resident research was in biomarker predictors of incident TB in adults with HIV/AIDS in low- and middle-income countries and included work in Pune, India. He is interested in healthcare delivery systems, disease prevention, and improving disease diagnostics.

Ms. Thomas holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree from the University of Washington. She is a nurse practitioner specializing in the care of persons of all ages. Her interests include HIV prevention and care to HIV/AIDS infected individuals, specifically individuals of African descent, pregnant women and children exposed and or infected with HIV/AIDS, and patient provider communication with African Americans. Ms. Thomas worked with the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials at a University of Washington clinical trials site specifically working with seropositive pregnant women and seropositive/exposed infants, children, and youth where she worked to successfully recruit and retain over several years hard to reach populations into NIH clinical trials. For her doctoral project, Ms. Thomas collaborated with a large northwest medical center focusing on improving provider communication with African American patients. As a result of this collaboration, Dr. Thomas developed evidence-based recommendations for implementation into an existing communication-training course for providers to be utilized by the collaborating agency.  

Ms. Wango is a Healthcare Management and Policy-trained Critical Care Registered Nurse. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International, an honor society for excellence in nursing based on academic or professional excellence. Apart from clinical experience, she has experience in supervising roles as a charge nurse and nurse supervisor. Ms. Wango graduated with honors from California State University Northridge and has a Master’s of Public Health degree in Healthcare Management and Policy from University of California, Los Angeles. For her Master's degree project, she had the opportunity to not only learn what Internal Control Systems are, but also evaluated the Internal Control Systems of Impact Research and Development Organization (IRDO), a local Kenyan Non-Governmental Organization. The subsequent report informed decisions made as IRDO made the transition into their proposed newly restructured operations. Ms. Wango's interests are in Project Management, Policy, Quality/Performance Improvement and Health Systems Strengthening.