Board

Aida Kurtović

Chair of the Board

Aida Kurtović became Chair in May 2017. She previously served as Vice-Chair of the Board for two years, and before that as a Board member, on Bosnia’s Country Coordinating Mechanism and on Global Fund Board committees. She is Executive Director of Partnerships in Health, an organization in Sarajevo whose mission is assisting institutions to build capacity and achieve sustainable improvements in the quality of basic and essential health services, changing the lives of vulnerable populations.

John Simon

Vice-Chair of the Board

Ambassador John Simon is founder and managing partner of Total Impact Capital, an impact investing firm. He has served as United States Ambassador to the African Union, and as Executive Vice President of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). He previously served as a senior director in the U.S. National Security Council and as Special Assistant to the President.

CANADA, SWITZERLAND and AUSTRALIA

Board Member – Amy Baker

Director General, Health and Nutrition Bureau, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, Canada

Amy Baker has served in numerous positions within the Government of Canada, including at CIDA, the Ministry of Justice, Status of Women Canada, and Human Resources Development Canada. She also served as founding Chief Operating Officer for the Queen Rania Foundation in Amman, Jordan, and Chief of Staff to the President of CIDA.

Alternate – Sue Graves

Director, Health and Education Funds, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia

Sue Graves is the director of health and education funds in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Multilateral Development and Finance Division. Graves covers Australia’s partnerships with various international organizations.

COMMUNITIES

Board Member – Rico Gustav

Community Development Manager, Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+)

Rico Gustav has been advocating for the rights of and working closely with people living with HIV and with key population groups since 1998 at regional, national and global levels.

Alternate – Maurine Murenga

Advocacy and Communications Manager, International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICW)

Maurine Murenga has advocated for access to rights-based services for women and girls living with HIV. She is active with Women4Global Fund, the Global Fund Advocates Network and the Malaria Free Society.

DEVELOPED COUNTRY NGOs

Board Member – Owen Ryan

Executive Director, International AIDS Society

Owen Ryan leads IAS, the world’s largest membership association for HIV professionals. He previously served as Deputy Direector for Public Policy at amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research. He worked for four years as a Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation where he was responsible for policy and advocacy work related to global health.

Alternate – Mike Podmore

Director, STOPAIDS

Mike Podmore is the Director of STOPAIDS, the network of 70 UK-based INGOs working on the global HIV response. Podmore has been active on Global Fund issues at global and national levels since 2012.

DEVELOPING COUNTRY NGOs

Board Member – Allan Maleche

Executive Director, Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDS (KELIN)

Allan Maleche is a human rights lawyer who has worked in the field of global health, HIV, TB, law and human rights since 2007. He is the founding executive director of the Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDS (KELIN). Maleche is two-time survivor of malaria.

Alternate – Edona Deva

Medical doctor and public health specialist

Edona Deva is a medical doctor and public health specialist. Her experience with NGOs began in 2003, when she worked with NGOs aimed at HIV prevention among key populations. Dr. Deva has helped start HIV treatment and care services in Kosovo and has influenced national responses throughout Eastern Europe.

EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA

Board Member – David Kihumuro Apuulil

Former Director General, Uganda AIDS Commission

David Kihumuro Apuuli is a medical doctor with 43 years of expertise in health planning and management. Dr Apuuli has served as the director general of the Uganda AIDS Commission and of the Ministry of Health in Uganda. He also served on the Uganda Country Coordinating Mechanism.

Alternate – Gerald Gwinji

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health and Child Care, Zimbabwe

Gerald Gwinji is the permanent secretary of Zimbabwe's Ministry of Health and Child Care. Dr Gwinji is a medical doctor by profession, specializing in public health. He has a passion for and long career in public health management. He served as a brigadier general presiding over military health services in Zimbabwe.

EASTERN EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA

Board Member – Ana Filipovska

General Secretary, Country Coordinating Mechanism, Macedonia

Ana Filipovska leads a social enterprise development process in Macedonia, strengthening communities in development of social enterprises as resource mobilization for health programs.

Alternate – Soltan Mammadov

Chief of Unit, International Relations Department, Heydar Aliyev Foundation

Soltan Mammadov served as Chair of the Finance & Operational Performance Committee on the Global Fund Board. As an active member of Eastern Europe and Central Asia constituency, among other roles he has also served as CCM chair for Azerbaijan.

EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN REGION

Board Member – Mohsen Asadi-Lari

Director General, International Affairs Department, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Iran

Mohsen Asadi-Lari is a medical doctor and an expert in rural health care systems. He has served on the Executive Board of the World Health Organization, and as a member of the Country Coordination Mechanism in Iran.

Alternate – Adeela Hammood

Minister of Health and Environment, Iraq

Adeela Hammood has served as Iraq’s Minister of Health and Environment since 2014. A medical doctor with a specialty in gynaecology and obstetrics, Dr Hammood practiced medicine until 2006, when she was elected as a member of the Iraqi Parliament. She has served in Parliament for three consecutive rounds, and has also served as Chair of Iraq’s Country Coordinating Mechanism.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION (BELGIUM, ITALY, PORTUGAL, SPAIN)

Board Member – Aida Liha Matejicek

Head of Unit, Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development, European Commission

Aida Liha Matejicek is responsible for policy development, financing and management in the areas of education, health, culture and research at the European Commission's Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development. She previously served as a regional program manager at UNDP and in Deloitte management advisory services.

Alternate – Jan Paehler

Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development, European Commission

Jan Paehler leads the team working on Global Health Initiatives in the European Commission's Directorate General for Development Co-operation. Jan is a medical doctor and served in clinical service in a government hospital in Ghana, and as an advisor in Child Health and Infectious Diseases.

FRANCE

Board Member – Michèle Boccoz

Ambassador, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France

Ambassador Michèle Boccoz has served the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a diplomat since 1991, working on European affairs then as first secretary at the Permanent Representation of France to the United Nations and international agencies in Vienna then Geneva. Her interest in research and health led her to serve as the Institut Pasteur Director for Global Affairs. She was an ambassador at posts in Brussels and Zagreb.

Alternate – Jean-François Pactet

Diplomat, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France

Jean-François Pactet is a French diplomat working on global affairs. His portfolio in the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs covers global health, food security, education and gender issues. He served in the French embassy to the United States.

GERMANY

Board Member – Hans-Peter Baur

Deputy Director General for Democracy, Human Rights, Social Development and Digital World, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Germany

Hans-Peter Baur has served as a deputy director in the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) since 2013. He has worked as the director of planning and policy; head of the Division for Cooperation with the Private Sector; and the head of the Division for Private Executing Agencies, Development and Volunteers Services, German Development Service.

Alternate – Heiko Warnken

Head of the Division for Health, Social Security and Population Policy, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Germany

Heiko Warnken has served in multiple positions in the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) since 1991, including as country manager, head of the Environment Division, and head of the Division for Coherence and Coordination within the German government. He has also worked in German embassies, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and as part of the country’s representation to the United Nations in Geneva.

JAPAN

Board Member – Mikio Mori

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan

Mikio Mori joined Japan’s foreign service in 1985. Within the ministry, he served as the director of the Second Africa Division in Tokyo and in positions in New York, Canberra and Nairobi. He worked on development issues as the economic minister at the Japanese Permanent Mission to the United Nations and as the deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Kenya.

Alternate – Aya Otaki

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan

Aya Otaki has served the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan in the United Nations Planning and Administration Division, and in the Central and South-Eastern Europe Divison. She also has served the Embassy of Japan in Bulgaria for three years.

LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN

Board Member - Nickolas Steele

Minister of Health and Social Security, Grenada

Nickolas Steele was appointed Minister of Health and Social Security for Grenada in December 2014. He previously served as Grenada’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Business, beginning in 2011. He has served numerous boards, including the Grenada Board of Tourism, the Grenada Chamber of Industry and Commerce, and others.

Alternate – Mirta Roses Periago

International Senior Adviser Global Public Health

Dr Mirta Roses is a medical health professional, specializing in infectious diseases and public health. She served as Director of Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) for 10 years. She has also served in the Ministry of Health in Argentina, in a regional office of WHO, and has been posted to Trinidad and Tobago, the Dominican Republic, Bolivia and Washington, D.C.

POINT SEVEN

Board Member – Jon Lomøy

Director General, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation

Jon Lomøy has served as the director general of Norad, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, since 2015. He previously directed the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Co-operation Directorate. He has also worked in senior positions in Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including as ambassador to Zambia and Tanzania.

Alternate Board Member – Lambert Grijns

Director, Social Development Department; Special Ambassador for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and HIV/AIDS, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands

In the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Lambert Grijns serves as the director of the Social Development Department and as the Special Ambassador for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights & HIV/AIDS. Grijns served as the Dutch ambassador to Nicaragua and worked in embassies in Viet Nam, Rwanda and Costa Rica.

PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS

Board Member – Kieran Daly

Deputy Director, Global Policy and Advocacy, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Kieran Daly is responsible for HIV, TB, malaria and the Global Fund. With an academic background in development economics, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO), and also worked for the International HIV/AIDS Alliance as the Senior Policy Advisor. He has extensive experience with the UN, with particular focus on HIV policy and programming.

Alternate – Jennifer Kates

Vice President and Director of Global Health & HIV Policy, Kaiser Family Foundation

Jennifer Kates oversees policy analysis and research focused on the U.S. government’s role in global health and on the global and domestic HIV epidemics.

PRIVATE SECTOR

Board Member – Julie Essiam

CEO, Ecobank Foundation; Group Executive for Human Resources and Corporate Affairs, Ecobank Group

Julie Essiam is Ecobank Group’s Executive for Human Resources and Corporate Affairs and is the CEO of the Ecobank Foundation. She has a passion for sustainable transformation and development work. Essiam is the concept originator and founder of the Africans4Africa initiative.

Alternate – Paul Schaper

Executive Director, Global Public Policy, Merck & Co.

Paul Schaper is responsible for global health policy issues in infectious disease, non-communicable disease, and reproductive health at Merck & Co. His work has involved HIV prevention and treatment issues for over two decades. In previous positions at Merck, he worked in the vaccine division on Merck’s HIV and HPV vaccine programs.

SOUTH EAST ASIA

Board Member – Filipe Da Costa

Vice-Chair of Country Coordinating Mechanism, Timor-Leste

Filipe da Costa worked as an advisor to the President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste on policy matters. Among other tasks, he has worked on nutrition, maternal and child health, economic growth and democracy and governance.

Alternate – Md. Sirazul Islam

Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Bangladesh

Md. Sirazul Islam has served Bangladesh for more than three decades in various capacities. Before becoming the secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, he served as the secretary of the Election Commission Secretariat. He has represented the country to various international development organizations. Islam is also vice-chair of Bangladesh’s Country Coordinating Mechanism.

UNITED KINGDOM

Board Member – Daniel Graymore

Head of Global Funds and Senior Representative in Geneva, Department for International Development (DFID), United Kingdom

Daniel Graymore has worked on issues related to access to medicines for 15 years. At DFID, he looks at the role of business in improving the affordability, accessibility and quality of essential medicines in developing countries. Graymore headed DFID offices in Uganda and Ghana, working on regional trade and economic growth in Africa. He has worked for development NGOs, including Christian Aid.

Alternate – Sarah Boulton

Global Health Funds Team Leader, Global Funds Department, Department for International Development (DFID), United Kingdom

Sarah Boulton is responsible for United Kingdom investments in the Global Fund and in UNITAID. In a previous role, she led the United Kingdom Multilateral Aid Review.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Board Member - Deborah L. Birx

U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator & U.S. Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy

Ambassador-at-Large, Deborah L. Birx, M.D., is a world-renowned medical expert and leader in the field of HIV/AIDS. Her three-decade-long career has focused on HIV/AIDS immunology, vaccine research, and global health. She previously served Director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Global HIV/AIDS, and as the Director of the U.S. Military HIV Research Program at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.

WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA

Board Member – Awa Marie Coll-Seck

Minister of Health, Republic of Senegal

Awa Marie Coll-Seck has served as Minister of Health since 2012 in Senegal, where she initiated far-reaching reform of the health sector. She previously served as Executive Director of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership and in a senior role at UNAIDS. She is the author of over 150 publications and a member of more than 20 professional societies.

Alternate – Bernice T. Dahn

Minister of Health, Republic of Liberia

Dr Bernice T. Dahn has over 19 years of experience as a public health physician, administrator, policy-maker and educator. She spearheaded the establishment of a Postgraduate Medical Education for Physicians and Surgeons in Liberia, and previously served as an Assistant Professor for Public Health at the University of Liberia.

WESTERN PACIFIC REGION

Board Member – Siula Molu Bulu

Health program manager, Wan Smolbag Theatre, Vanuatu

Siula Molu Bulu has worked for ten years as a health program manager for Wan Smolbag Theatre, an NGO in Vanuatu. Her involvement with the Global Fund began when her organization represented Vanuatu NGOs on the Pacific Islands Regional Multi-Country Coordinating Mechanism. She chaired the coordinating mechanism starting in 2015.

PARTNERS (non-voting)

Board Member – KESETEBIRHAN (KESETE) ADMASU

CEO, Roll Back Malaria Partnership

Dr Kesete Admasu became CEO of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership in February 2017. Kesete served as the minister of health of Ethiopia from 2012 to 2016. A medical doctor by training, Kesete has dedicated his career to public service and scientific research focused on major public health problems.

Alternate – LUCICA DITIU

Executive Secretary, Stop TB Partnership

Lucica Ditiu is the executive secretary of the Stop TB Partnership Secretariat. Trained as a physician and researcher, Ditiu has devoted her career to improving the lives of people living in communities heavily burdened by TB. She previously served as a TB medical officer in Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia within the disaster and preparedness unit of a World Health Organization regional office.

UNAIDS (non-voting)

Board Member – Michel Sidibé

Executive Director, UNAIDS

Michel Sidibé has spent more than 30 years in public service. As Executive Director of UNAIDS and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, he has provided distinguished leadership with a vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.

Alternate – Deborah von Zinkernagel

Deborah von Zinkernagel oversees UNAIDS’ collaboration with the Global Fund at the global, regional and country level. She has worked in HIV/AIDS clinical care, program and policy for 25 years, most recently as Principal Deputy at the U.S. State Department Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator for four years.

WHO (non-voting)

Board Member – Ren Minghui

Assistant Director-General, WHO

Ren Minghui is Assistant Director-General at WHO for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases. A medical doctor, Dr Ren previously served as Director-General for International Cooperation in the National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People’s Republic of China, and represented China in numerous international organizations, including the Board of the Global Fund.

Dr Mubashar Riaz Sheikh

Director, Strategic Partnerships & Cross Cutting Coordination, WHO

Mubashar Riaz Sheikh is a senior adviser on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases at WHO. Originally from Pakistan, and trained as a medical doctor, Dr Sheikh served previously as UN Resident Coordinator in Kuwait, leading joint actions of multiple UN agencies.

WORLD BANK (non-voting)

Board Member – Timothy G. Evans

Senior Director of Health, Nutrition and Population, World Bank Group

Tim Evans has been at the forefront of advancing global health equity and strengthening health systems delivery for more than 20 years. At WHO, he led the Commission on Social Determinants of Health, and has been a co-founder of many partnerships including GAVI the Vaccine Alliance.

Alternate – Jaehyang So

Director, Trust Funds and Partnerships, World Bank Group

Jaehyang So has worked throughout World Bank’s front line and corporate units focusing on privatization of utilities, financial and corporate restructuring of state owned enterprises, and infrastructure operations in East Asia, South Asia, Eastern and Central Asia, and Africa.