Governance - ev4gh

The governance of EV4GH is by a governance group consisting of EV4GH alumni and with representation from Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp where EV4GH was conceived. The secretariat is located at the African Population and Health Research Center. EV4GH has a globally representative governance structure comprised of the following members. See also the history of EV4GH and the current call.

Sara Ardila-Gómez (University of Buenos Aires, Argentina) (Region of the Americas)

Sara is a psychologist, with a MA in Social and Community Psychology and a PhD in Community Mental Health. She was born in Colombia and lives in Argentina.
She is currently working in different research projects about the psychiatric reform in Argentina and Latin America, with special attention to the mental health users’ movement.

“My goal as a board member of EV4GH is to contribute to the core idea of the movement: switching the poles”

Tatiana Paduraru

(SEEHN Secretariat) (European region)

Dr. Paduraru background is dermatology. She obtained a Master Degree in Health Management & Law, at CNAM, France. The academic path continues as MBA candidate at the University of Sheffield.
Her career path over a decade is within the MOH of Moldova. Dr. Paduraru served for establishing the ODA coordination mechanism. The success in her endeavor to promote good governance, transparency, accountability and rule of law has been prized through the John Smith Memorial Trust Fellowship in the UK.
Dr. Paduraru closely worked with MOH in the Republic of Georgia on a series of recommendations on the PHC Strategy, Strengthening Quality of Care, HR Strategy, Health Financing and PPPs.
Currently, she is serving within SEEHN Secretariat, an intergovernmental organization of 9 Member States focused on public health and well-being in the South Eastern Europe Region.

“I believe in the UHC and that both the government and citizens have their responsibilities. EVs have a crucial role to find ways for this partnership to be functional in a world with limited resources.”

Charles Ssemugabo

(African region)

Charles Ssemugabo – Research Associate at Makerere University School of Public Health,
Kampala, Uganda.
Charles Ssemugabo is a Public Health specialist with undergraduate training in Environmental
Health and post-graduate training in Public Health. He is based at Makerere University School of
Public Health, Kampala, Uganda where he works as a Research Associate in the Department of
Disease Control and Environmental Health. For the past six (6) years, Charles has been working
on strengthening Community Health Workers programmes in rural Uganda in the areas of
training, supervision, and motivation; involvement in non-communicable disease prevention and
control; gender and ethics. While Charles is continuing to support community health workers
programmes, he is also involved with environmental exposures particularly pesticides across the
lifespan and how they contribute to the development of non-communicable diseases research and
has a keen interest in Planetary and Urban Health. He is happy to engage on public health issues
especially those that have a huge bearing on global wellbeing. He also finds pleasure in
supporting colleagues at all levels. So, feel free to reach out on cssemugabo@musph.ac.ug or
0779 625182 on social media @cssemugabo8(Twitter) or Charles Ssemugabo (Facebook).
“As a board member of EV4GH, he is looking forward to growing and spreading the network in
all corners of the world including disciplines beyond Health system and policy research”.

Radhika Arora (Oxford Policy Management, Delhi, India) (South-East Asian region)

Radhika Arora’s initial academic training was in broadcast journalism, followed by a Master of Public Health degree. She is presently working with Oxford Policy Management in Delhi on their work on frontline health workers. She also works on project-related knowledge management activities at OPM. Radhika has been actively engaged with the EV4GH program as a co-coordinator for the alumni task force over the past few years, and looks forward to taking this role forward in future.

Yinzi Jin

(Western Pacific region)

Dr. Yinzi Jin is an assistant professor and associate bresearcher of the Department of Global Health at Peking University School of Public Health. Dr. Jin received her PhD in health systems and policy from Peking University China Center for Health Development Studies in June 2018. Dr. Jin completed her postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Global Health at Peking University School of Public Health in June 2020.
Dr. Jin’s research areas include global health governance, health system and policy, and
implementation strategies of prevention and control for chronic non-communicable diseases. Her studies focus on designing and implementing evidence-based interventions to improve the quality of care for patients with chronic non-communicable disease and its acute episodes in low and middle- income countries. She has studied a wide range of innovations including quality improvement in clinical pathways, care management practices, clinical information systems, and integrated healthcare delivery models. She serves as an Advisory Board Member of the BMJ Quality & Safety (Chinese).
She has served as Consultant of the Chinese delegation for the Program, Budget, and Administration Committee, Executive Board, and World Health Assembly since 2018, and one of the organizers of the
Sub-forum on Healthy Youth of the First Conference of the Global Health Forum of Boao Forum for Asia.

Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivas (Faculty, Institute of Public Health, Bangalore) (South-East Asian region)

Prashanth is a medical doctor with a specialisation in public health. For his PhD, he studied organisational change in a local health system setting. He is involved in teaching face-to-face and e-learning courses on health management, health policy and systems research methods. He has an interest in strengthening primary health care and works with wildlife scientists and ecologists on topics related to the interface between health and environment. In his free time, he is a passionate birdwatcher, wikipedia editor, social media enthusiast and a closet-naturalist.

“My ultimate goal is to facilitate EV4GH as a disruptive movement that shifts focus of global health and development community towards equitable health worldwide”

Goran Zangana (Health and Humanitarian Advancement Network (HUMAN) , Iraq) (Eastern Mediterranean Region)

Dr Goran Zangana is a medical doctor from Iraq with experience in acute medicine, public health, epidemiology, health policy and health systems in conflict-affected settings. Dr Zangana is co-founder of a Health Policy Research Organisation. He is an active researcher at the Middle East Research Institute in Erbil of Kurdistan region of Iraq. He has done a PhD at the University of Edinburgh on the politics of introducing the basic packages of health service in the conflict-setting of Iraq. He is currently the Program Manager for the Health and Humanitarian Advancement Network (HUMAN) network in Iraq.

He is a member of the advisory committee of the Fragile and Conflict-affected settings thematic working group of Health Systems Global.

Kristof Decoster (liaison with ITM) Public Health Department Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp

Kristof Decoster has a background in political science and has been working at the ITM since October 2007. He currently focuses on the International Health Policies newsletter and network, and has been involved in Emerging Voices since the start of the program. He’s the liaison with ITM in the current EV governance team.
“I hope Emerging Voices for Global Health can first of all become truly “networked individuals” and, building on this, become HPSR and global health change agents in their countries, at the regional and global level. And why not, while we’re at it, at the level of the universe :)!”

Jean Paul Dossou (Public health scientist Institute of Tropical Medicine of Antwerp, Belgium (ITM) and at the Research Centre in Human Reproduction and Demography (CERRHUD) (African Region)

Jean-Paul Dossou (EV2012) is a medical doctor and public heath scientist from Benin. He is currently involved in a PhD program and is jointly affiliated to ITM and CERRHUD. He currently chairs the West-African Network of Emerging Leaders in health policy and systems. His current research interests are related to sexual and reproductive health mainly from the health policy and system research and practice perspectives. He passionate about health system thinking and other methodologies and approaches to design, study and evaluate complex interventions and policies, from initiation and implementation to impact. “Collective Intelligence” and “Collaborative Governance” drive his professional creativity for better health system.

“…together we will lift EV4GH to a higher level of performance, in order to make the Emerging Voice spirit and opportunity more accessible to everyone, everywhere”.

Nityasri S N (Institute of Public Health, Bangalore) (South-East Asian region) – Secretary

Francis C. Onyambu(Researcher – APHRC) – Secretary

Governance board – 2019 – 21

Dorcus Kiwanuka Henriksson(Karolinska Institute, Sweden (East/South African region)

Dorcus is passionate about creating opportunities for young professionals. One of her desires is to see meaningful engagement of young professionals and women with global health and promoting primary health care for the achievement of universal health coverage. As one of the women in Global Health Sweden, Dorcus continues to promote visibility and recognition of women as leaders and experts in global health.

She started her career as a medical officer in rural Uganda and headed a district health system. She has worked within HIV care, capacity building, health management, primary health care, maternal, newborn and child health, research and health systems. She has experience with multilateral and bilateral organisation, governments and within academia and holds a doctoral degree in International Health.

“My ultimate goal is to have the voices of young health professionals heard at the global level”

Beibei Yuan (Professor, Peking University, China) (Representative Western Pacific Region)

She continued the research on evidence-based method in the areas of health system and policies, including development of appropriate methodology on evidence synthesis, conducting of systematic reviews on specific health system and policy research topics. She also has experience in teaching the courses related to systematic review or evidence synthesis.

She is the also the expert member of WHO Alliance Health Systems Research Synthesis Advisory Group, expert member of China Delegation for World Health Assembly on the areas of WHO financing and Universal Health Coverage, and the committee member of China Young Scholars Federation of Health Management Researches.

YUAN, Beibei MD, PhD, Associate Professor in Peking University China Center for Health Development Studies. She got PhD in management from Shandong University in 2011, and worked in Peking University and Karolinska Institutet as a postdoctoral fellow from 2011-2013.

Radhika Arora (Oxford Policy Management, Delhi, India) (South-East Asian region)

Radhika Arora’s initial academic training was in broadcast journalism, followed by a Master of Public Health degree. She is presently working with Oxford Policy Management in Delhi on their work on frontline health workers. She also works on project-related knowledge management activities at OPM. Radhika has been actively engaged with the EV4GH program as a co-coordinator for the alumni task force over the past few years, and looks forward to taking this role forward in future.

Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivas (Faculty, Institute of Public Health, Bangalore) (South-East Asian region)

Prashanth is a medical doctor with a specialisation in public health. For his PhD, he studied organisational change in a local health system setting. He is involved in teaching face-to-face and e-learning courses on health management, health policy and systems research methods. He has an interest in strengthening primary health care and works with wildlife scientists and ecologists on topics related to the interface between health and environment. In his free time, he is a passionate birdwatcher, wikipedia editor, social media enthusiast and a closet-naturalist.

“My ultimate goal is to facilitate EV4GH as a disruptive movement that shifts focus of global health and development community towards equitable health worldwide”

Vladimir Gordeev (Queen Mary University of London) (European region)

Dr Vladimir S Gordeev is a Senior Health Economist at the Pragmatic Clinical Trials Unit, Queen Mary University of London. He is also an honorary Assistant Professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, where he has been working since 2013. Vladimir has a diverse background, as a medical doctor and a health economist, his expertise is in health systems financing, financial and social protection, quality of life measures, and economic and policy evaluation.

Vladimir is a co-chair of the Emerging Voices for Global Health Thematic Working Group and a member of a board of directors for Health Systems Global, representing the European region in both.

“I hope that EV4GH will become a resilient network of bright young public health champions and will connect leaders that will write together new chapters in the history of global public health and health systems”

Faraz Khalid

Goran Zangana (Health and Humanitarian Advancement Network (HUMAN) , Iraq) (Eastern Mediterranean Region)

Dr Goran Zangana is a medical doctor from Iraq with experience in acute medicine, public health, epidemiology, health policy and health systems in conflict-affected settings. Dr Zangana is co-founder of a Health Policy Research Organisation. He is an active researcher at the Middle East Research Institute in Erbil of Kurdistan region of Iraq. He has done a PhD at the University of Edinburgh on the politics of introducing the basic packages of health service in the conflict-setting of Iraq. He is currently the Program Manager for the Health and Humanitarian Advancement Network (HUMAN) network in Iraq.

He is a member of the advisory committee of the Fragile and Conflict-affected settings thematic working group of Health Systems Global.

Nityasri S N — Nityasri S N (Institute of Public Health, Bangalore) (South-East Asian region) – Secretary

Sara Ardila-Gómez (University of Buenos Aires, Argentina) (Region of the Americas)

Sara is a psychologist, with a MA in Social and Community Psychology and a PhD in Community Mental Health. She was born in Colombia and lives in Argentina.
She is currently working in different research projects about the psychiatric reform in Argentina and Latin America, with special attention to the mental health users’ movement.

“My goal as a board member of EV4GH is to contribute to the core idea of the movement: switching the poles”

Jean Paul Dossou (Public health scientist Institute of Tropical Medicine of Antwerp, Belgium (ITM) and at the Research Centre in Human Reproduction and Demography (CERRHUD) (African Region)

Jean-Paul Dossou (EV2012) is a medical doctor and public heath scientist from Benin. He is currently involved in a PhD program and is jointly affiliated to ITM and CERRHUD. He currently chairs the West-African Network of Emerging Leaders in health policy and systems. His current research interests are related to sexual and reproductive health mainly from the health policy and system research and practice perspectives. He passionate about health system thinking and other methodologies and approaches to design, study and evaluate complex interventions and policies, from initiation and implementation to impact. “Collective Intelligence” and “Collaborative Governance” drive his professional creativity for better health system.

“…together we will lift EV4GH to a higher level of performance, in order to make the Emerging Voice spirit and opportunity more accessible to everyone, everywhere”.

Kristof Decoster (liaison with ITM) Public Health Department Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp

Kristof Decoster has a background in political science and has been working at the ITM since October 2007. He currently focuses on the International Health Policies newsletter and network, and has been involved in Emerging Voices since the start of the program. He’s the liaison with ITM in the current EV governance team.
“I hope Emerging Voices for Global Health can first of all become truly “networked individuals” and, building on this, become HPSR and global health change agents in their countries, at the regional and global level. And why not, while we’re at it, at the level of the universe :)!”

Governance board – 2017 – 19

Dorcus Kiwanuka Henriksson
(Karolinska Institute and Uppsala University in Sweden)
(East/South African region)

Dorcus Kiwanuka Henriksson is a Ugandan medical doctor by training with a Master of Public health. She is a research Officer and PhD candidate affiliated to Karolinska Institute and Uppsala University in Sweden. She has worked within the field of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa and has also worked within the broader health sector within the public sector both at the central and district level. She has also worked with Non-Governmental organizations, bilateral and multilateral organizations.
Her current research interests are in Health Systems and policy, and having worked as a District Health Officer, her research currently focuses on how to improve health systems by focusing on the district level and district managers and finding ways to meaningfully engage and empower the community.

“My ultimate goal is to have the voices of young health systems researchers heard at the global level”

Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivas (Faculty, Institute of Public Health, Bangalore) (South-East Asian region)

Prashanth is a medical doctor with a specialisation in public health. For his PhD, he studied organisational change in a local health system setting. He is involved in teaching face-to-face and e-learning courses on health management, health policy and systems research methods. He has an interest in strengthening primary health care and works with wildlife scientists and ecologists on topics related to the interface between health and environment. In his free time, he is a passionate birdwatcher, wikipedia editor, social media enthusiast and a closet-naturalist.

“My ultimate goal is to facilitate EV4GH as a disruptive movement that shifts focus of global health and development community towards equitable health worldwide”

Vladimir Gordeev (London School Of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine) (European region)

Dr Vladimir S. Gordeev has a background in internal medicine, economics and public health, and has been working at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine since 2013.
He is currently working on improving the impact metrics design and metrics testing related to maternal and newborn health in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Nepal, Tanzania and Uganda.

“I hope that EV4GH will become a resilient network of bright young public health champions and will connect leaders that will write together new chapters in the history of global public health and health systems”

Kopano Mabaso (liaison with HS Global)

Dr. Kopano Matlwa Mabaso is a South African medical doctor and author currently reading for a DPhil in Population Health at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Kopano represents Emerging Voices and other young health systems researchers on the board of Health Systems Global.
Kopano is the founder of Transitions Foundation, an NGO that provides educational support to young South Africans from disadvantaged backgrounds and is co-founder of Ona Mtoto Wako, an initiative that seeks to take lifesaving antenatal health care to pregnant women living in remote and rural parts of low income countries. Kopano believes that the Emerging Voices are the turning point generation!

Kristof Decoster (liaison with ITM) Public Health Department Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp

Kristof Decoster has a background in political science and has been working at the ITM since October 2007. He currently focuses on the International Health Policies newsletter and network, and has been involved in Emerging Voices since the start of the program. He’s the liaison with ITM in the current EV governance team.
“I hope Emerging Voices for Global Health can first of all become truly “networked individuals” and, building on this, become HPSR and global health change agents in their countries, at the regional and global level. And why not, while we’re at it, at the level of the universe :)!”

Jin Xu (Peking University) (Western Pacific region) Co-treasurer

Dr. Jin Xu is associated with Peking University China Centre for Health Development Studies, and a PhD candidate at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
He is working on analyzing the balance between primary care providers and hospitals in China using mixed methods.

“I see the Emerging Voices movement as empowering young researchers to be change agents of health systems research and global health, using innovative ways of training and collaboration.”

Sara Ardila-Gómez (University of Buenos Aires, Argentina) (Region of the Americas)

Sara is a psychologist, with a MA in Social and Community Psychology and a PhD in Community Mental Health. She was born in Colombia and lives in Argentina.
She is currently working in different research projects about the psychiatric reform in Argentina and Latin America, with special attention to the mental health users’ movement.

“My goal as a board member of EV4GH is to contribute to the core idea of the movement: switching the poles”

Faraz Khalid

Lokossou Kuassi Virgil (West Africa Health Organization (WAHO) (West/Central African region)

Virgil LOKOSSOU currently works at the West African Health Organization (WAHO) as a Technical Officer in Epidemics Control. He is focused on Health emergencies response, Health Research and Health System Strengthening. Virgil is currently in charge of the ECOWAS Regional Rapid Response Team and is present in the activities of overall health in West Africa, evidenced by his multiple interventions in several conferences and foras.

“About the future of Emerging Voices, I believe that young West Africans researchers and policymakers will be able to take this opportunity to make their voice heard at the regional and global level”

Laura Dean (Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom) – Liverpool co-ordinator

Pragati Hebbar (Institute of Public Health, Bangalore) (South-East Asian region) – Secretary

Pragati is a dentist by education, a public health advocate by profession and a nascent researcher with interest in research ethics, NCDs, and fascinated by implementation science. After completing her Masters in Oral Medicine and Radiology from The Oxford Dental College and Hospital in 2012 she practiced dentistry at a charitable hospital in Bengaluru for a while.
Her interest in tobacco control and the strong desire to do something at a population level lead her to ‘discover’ IPH

Ketki Shah (Institute of Public Health, Bangalore) (South-East Asian region) – Secretary

Ketki is a dentist and has completed her Masters of Public Health in Health Policy, Economics and Finance from Tata Institute of Social Sciences. She joined IPH in 2018 and presently works for the Emerging Voices for Global Health program. She also assists in research activities on health financing.

Governance board – 2015 – 17

Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivas (Faculty, Institute of Public Health, Bangalore) (South-East Asian region)

Prashanth is a medical doctor with a specialisation in public health. For his PhD, he studied organisational change in a local health system setting. He is involved in teaching face-to-face and e-learning courses on health management, health policy and systems research methods. He has an interest in strengthening primary health care and works with wildlife scientists and ecologists on topics related to the interface between health and environment. In his free time, he is a passionate birdwatcher, wikipedia editor, social media enthusiast and a closet-naturalist.

“My ultimate goal is to facilitate EV4GH as a disruptive movement that shifts focus of global health and development community towards equitable health worldwide”

Dorcus Kiwanuka Henriksson
(Karolinska Institute and Uppsala University in Sweden)
(East/South African region)

Dorcus Kiwanuka Henriksson is a Ugandan medical doctor by training with a Master of Public health. She is a research Officer and PhD candidate affiliated to Karolinska Institute and Uppsala University in Sweden. She has worked within the field of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa and has also worked within the broader health sector within the public sector both at the central and district level. She has also worked with Non-Governmental organizations, bilateral and multilateral organizations.
Her current research interests are in Health Systems and policy, and having worked as a District Health Officer, her research currently focuses on how to improve health systems by focusing on the district level and district managers and finding ways to meaningfully engage and empower the community.

“My ultimate goal is to have the voices of young health systems researchers heard at the global level”

Arsene Kpangon (University of Parakou) (West/Central African region)

Arsene Kpangon worked at University of Parakou (Benin Republic) as a Public Health research assistant. As infectious diseases specialist with public health competencies, he is focused on health systems challenges in presence of constraints represented by HIV, TB, and Ebola in Africa settings. Arsene is very present in the activities of overall health, evidenced by his multiple interventions in several discussions on the forum of EVs, publications in the newsletter of international health policies, and his online mobilization against Ebola.

“About future of EVGH I think that with daily effort and resilience in EVs group, we would help the world to improve health system conditions”

Asmat Malik (Independent Consultant) (Eastern Mediterranean region) – Co-chair

Asmat Malik, a medical doctor and systems analyst by training with PhD in Health Policy and Systems from the University of Queensland, Australia has been working over 18-years in South and South-East Asia and Africa. He is an international expert on developing Comprehensive Multi-year Plans for Immunization Systems. Having thorough insights in developing health system strengthening initiatives under infrastructure constrained and resource limited settings, he has tested innovative strategies for strengthening health service delivery and translated these initiatives into national health systems and programs.

“I wish to see EV4GH “driving global health agenda”

Kopano Mabaso (liaison with HS Global)

Dr. Kopano Matlwa Mabaso is a South African medical doctor and author currently reading for a DPhil in Population Health at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Kopano represents Emerging Voices and other young health systems researchers on the board of Health Systems Global.
Kopano is the founder of Transitions Foundation, an NGO that provides educational support to young South Africans from disadvantaged backgrounds and is co-founder of Ona Mtoto Wako, an initiative that seeks to take lifesaving antenatal health care to pregnant women living in remote and rural parts of low income countries. Kopano believes that the Emerging Voices are the turning point generation!

Jin Xu (Peking University) (Western Pacific region) Co-treasurer

Dr. Jin Xu is associated with Peking University China Centre for Health Development Studies, and a PhD candidate at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
He is working on analyzing the balance between primary care providers and hospitals in China using mixed methods.

“I see the Emerging Voices movement as empowering young researchers to be change agents of health systems research and global health, using innovative ways of training and collaboration.”

Kristof Decoster (liaison with ITM) Public Health Department Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp

Kristof Decoster has a background in political science and has been working at the ITM since October 2007. He currently focuses on the International Health Policies newsletter and network, and has been involved in Emerging Voices since the start of the program. He’s the liaison with ITM in the current EV governance team.
“I hope Emerging Voices for Global Health can first of all become truly “networked individuals” and, building on this, become HPSR and global health change agents in their countries, at the regional and global level. And why not, while we’re at it, at the level of the universe :)!”

Vladimir Gordeev (London School Of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine) (European region) Treasurer

Dr Vladimir S. Gordeev has a background in internal medicine, economics and public health, and has been working at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine since 2013.
He is currently working on improving the impact metrics design and metrics testing related to maternal and newborn health in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Nepal, Tanzania and Uganda.

“I hope that EV4GH will become a resilient network of bright young public health champions and will connect leaders that will write together new chapters in the history of global public health and health systems”

Elena Vargas (Independent Researcher) (Region of the Americas) – Secretary

Medical Doctor and Public Health Practitioner. Involved in research projects that aimed to improve quality of care in primary healthcare services and access to sexual and reproductive healthcare for adolescents in Nicaragua, Ecuador and Bolivia. General physician in underserved rural communities in Nicaragua.

“I expect the EV movement becomes an example of how young health researchers and activists from different backgrounds and with a diversity of perspectives can work together to exchange and develop new ideas for strengthening health systems. Big dreams, big challenges :)”

Sophia Thomas (Institute of Public Health, Bangalore) (South-East Asian region) – Secretary

Sophia has completed her Masters in Public Health (MPH). Her interests are Global health, Health policy and planning, and Social and behavioural sciences.

“I am glad to be working in EV4GH, which promotes young researchers as myself. I hope this initiative echoes the voices of ‘young dynamos’ across the globe to bring about a positive change in the health systems, especially in the developing countries.”

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