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Participant Biographies
Jibril Abdulmalik, H.P.M., M.S., MBBS, is a lecturer in psychiatry with the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and a consultant psychiatrist with the University College Hospital, Ibadan. His research interest is in public mental health, especially mental health services research, with emphases on the successful integration of mental health into primary care, and the provision of services to vulnerable populations such as street children, young children, adolescents, and prisoners. Dr. Abdulmalik has a master’s degree in Health Management and Planning, as well as in Child and Adolescent Mental Health. He is currently working on an International Master’s in Mental Health Policy and Services with the University of Lisbon, Portugal. He has been actively involved in piloting the implementation of the World Health Organization’s Mental Health Gap Action Program in Nigeria. He is also a Co-Investigator (Nigeria) on the EMERALD (Emerging Mental Health Systems in Low- and Middle-Income Countries) Project.
Francis Acquah, R.N., is president of the Mental Health Foundation of Ghana, and has more than 25 years of experience as a psychiatric nurse across public and private health care settings. He is a credentialed mental health nurse accredited by the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses. He has undertaken numerous roles, including triage/intake nurse, community psychiatric nurse, clinical nurse educator, and community educator. He has also worked in a range of settings, including acute mental health services, crisis assessment and treatment teams, Orygen Youth Health and The Melbourne Clinic, and as a specialist pharmaceutical advisor to medical personnel on psychotropic drugs with a leading pharmaceutical company. He has explored transcultural psychiatry and provided
psychocultural counseling, and has been a strong advocate for refugees and immigrants, especially within the African community. He is a mental health First Aid instructor and has used his mental health nursing experience to educate the community about mental health and the reduction of stigma. Mr. Acquah is the clinical director of Positive Mental Health Program, which provides mental health support, counseling, psychosocial rehabilitation, and reintegration into society. He organized the first community and professionals’ forum to educate African and mental health professionals about mental illness in Australia. In 1994, he wrote his thesis on “Mental Health of Immigrants and Refugees to Multicultural Australia: A Clinician’s Perceptive.” He is a Mental Health First Aid instructor and has used his experiences to educate the community about mental health and reduction of stigma. He is a community trainer and was involved in the delivery of “Stepping out of the Shadows: Reducing Stigma in Multicultural Communities.” Mr. Acquah has won multiple awards and honors, including the Living Legend Award from Celebration of African Australian National Awards in 2013; Meritorious Service Award for Excellence in Multicultural Affairs in 2013; Fellow of the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses; Community Leader Award from African Media Awards in 2014; and Australia Day Award in 2015. He is also president of the Rotary Club of Greensborough and president of the Mental Health Foundation of Ghana, a charity organization based in Australia and Ghana.
Emmanuel Teye Adjase, M.D., M.P.H., is a Distinguished Fellow of the Ghana Medical Association and has worked as both a doctor and a public health physician specialist. He has extensive experience across statutory, national, international, independent, voluntary, and community sectors. Dr. Adjase, with expertise in health professionals education and training, holds an M.D., an M.P.H., and an Honorary Doctorate of Science Degree from the University of Winchester, England. He is the immediate past president of the International Academy of Physician Associate Educators, member of The West African Health Organization Regional Council for Health Professions Education in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Region, and a member of the World Health Organization Technical Working Group on Health Workforce Education Assessment Tools. Currently, Dr. Teye Adjase is the Ghana Lead for the Kintampo Project, which focuses on improving mental health services throughout Ghana.
Grégoire Ahongbonon was born in Bénin in 1952, in a village north of Porto Novo, the country’s capital. He and his wife set up a prayer group after a period of great personal distress. They called the group “Association St.-Camille-de-Lellis,” named after the patron saint of caretakers. The group visited the sick at the nearby University Hospital. They catered to persons living with AIDS, lepers, and prison inmates for years. In 1990, he shifted his focus to assisting the mentally ill. Twenty-five years later, fueled by an unrelenting faith, a formidable energy, and the unique qualities of both an entrepreneur and as a therapist, he has developed an expansive mental health system, spanning Côte d’Ivoire, Bénin, Togo, and Burkina Faso. More than 60,000 patients have returned to a family life under the care of his organization, which has seven in-patient centers with 200 patients per unit. Most of the caretakers in these centers are remitted, previous patients who receive training from visiting psychiatrists at one of seven St.-Camille Rehabilitation Centers. There are additionally two ambulatory general St.-Camille hospitals, which service both the mentally ill and the local population, for free or for a minimal fee. More than 45 St.-Camille Relay Centers have piggy-backed onto Catholic dispensaries across Côte d’Ivoire, Bénin, and now, Togo, which serve as dispensaries for patients to receive medication and treatment centers, where new cases are brought in from surrounding villages. Association St.-Camille-de-Lellis is a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that relies on charity from small NGOs across Europe and Canada, several embassies, and the Quebec government. Ahongbonon and the St.-Camille have received many international awards for their efforts, including awards from the World Health Organization and the Vatican as well as the Franco Basaglia Award. He and his team continue to work toward reducing the stigma of mental illness and expanding St.-Camille’s mission to provide mental health and general medical community care to additional African countries.
Albert Akpalu, M.D., is a senior physician specialist, head of the Neurology and Stroke Units at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, and a lecturer at the University of Ghana Medical School. He is currently Principal Investigator for the H3 Africa SIREN Stroke Investigative Research and Education Network Phenomics arm of the Stroke in Blacks study, the Wessex Ghana Stroke project, and Ghana Fights Against Epilepsy Initiative. He is a member of the Movement Disorders Society, International League Against Epilepsy/Epilepsy Society of Ghana, International Brain
Research Organization, West African College of Physicians, and the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Joseph Bediako Asare, M.D., is an associate adjunct professor at the School of Medical Health Sciences, University of Development Studies, in Tamale, Ghana. He also serves as chair of the Mental Health Board of Ghana and chair of the faculty of psychiatry with the Ghana College of Physicians. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the United Kingdom and a Fellow of the West African College of Physicians, for which he served as vice president and guest lecturer in 1999. He is a Foundation Fellow of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, and was awarded the Grand Medal of the Republic of Ghana Civil Division in 1997 for meritorious service. He completed his postgraduate training in Psychiatry in both Australia and the United Kingdom, and served as chief psychiatrist in Ghana for more than 21 years, until retiring in 2004. During this period, he was an advisor to the Government of Ghana and was an advisor to the World Health Organization. He was appointed as an advisor to the Eritrean Government for 1 month and he presented many publications on mental health on an international platform. He initiated the development of the current mental health law in Ghana, and helped develop community mental health and the establishment of the Narcotics Control Board. He was appointed to the International Narcotic Control Board in Vienna for 5 years. He also offered humanitarian services, including working as a mental health trainer/ consultant, through the International Medical Corps, in disaster areas such as Indonesia, Pakistan, and Sierra Leone. He has written many scientific publications and has peer-reviewed dozens of articles.
Lukoye Atwoli, MBCh.B., M.Med., Ph.D., graduated from Moi University with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree in 2001, and later studied Psychiatry at the University of Nairobi, graduating in 2006. He was further trained in Disaster Mental Health at the Hyogo Institute of Traumatic Stress in 2006, after which he worked for 1 year in northeastern Kenya near the Somali border. He was also involved in designing and coordinating the mental health and psychosocial intervention for survivors of Kenya’s postelection violence in 2008. He is currently the dean of Moi University’s School of Medicine and teaches in the Department of Mental Health. He has been involved in a number of research projects in Kenya, South Africa, and Europe through the World Mental Health Surveys initiative. His current research focuses on
trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder. Apart from research and teaching, he provides clinical care to patients at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and several other hospitals in Eldoret, Kenya.
Koku Awoonor-Williams, M.D., M.P.P., M.P.H., is regional director of health service for the Upper East Region of Ghana and a consultant in public health with interests in health systems development, childhood survival, reproductive health, and health program assessments and evaluation. He has made major contributions to the health sector and public health community, both in Ghana and internationally. He was at one time the national coordinator of the Ghana Community-based Health Planning and Services Program, and is currently chair of the Navrongo Health Research Centre Institutional Ethics Review Board. He was a Co–Principal Investigator of the Mobile Technology for Community Health and Ghana Essential Health Intervention Projects, as well as a contributor to several other health projects. He serves on the Board of Global Doctors for Choice, and he is a collaborating scientist of the Averting Maternal Death and Disability Project of Columbia University.
Shantha Rau Barriga, MALD, is director of the disability rights program at Human Rights Watch. She is responsible for overseeing research and advocacy on discrimination and human rights violations against people with disabilities worldwide. She has carried out research and advocacy on a range of issues, including abuses against people with mental disabilities in Ghana, barriers to education for children with disabilities in Nepal, violence against women with disabilities in northern Uganda and India, and barriers to political participation in Peru. She has also worked closely with researchers across thematic and regional divisions to produce reports that address disability issues in Argentina, China, Croatia, Indonesia, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, South Sudan, Turkey, and the United States. She was a member of the UNICEF Advisory Board for the 2013 State of the World’s Children report and serves on the World Health Organization expert group on violence against children with disabilities in institutional settings. She is also a member of the International Network of Women with Disabilities. Before joining Human Rights Watch, she participated in the negotiations toward the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She has worked on a range of issues in the disability field, including legal capacity, accessibility, women and children with disabilities, sexual and gender-based violence, rehabilitation, and access to justice. She received degrees from the Fletcher
School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and the University of Michigan, and she was a Fulbright Scholar to Austria. She speaks German and Kannada, an Indian language.
Carol Bernstein, M.D., is associate professor of psychiatry, vice chair for education in psychiatry, and director of residency training in psychiatry at the New York University (NYU) School of Medicine. From 2001–2011, Dr. Bernstein also served as the associate dean for graduate medical education and the designated institutional official for Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education–accredited training programs at NYU. She is a past president of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), and has served the Association as Vice-President, Treasurer and Trustee-at-Large and as the chair of multiple committees. She has served as a spokesperson for the APA on many occasions and received the 1997 exemplary psychiatrist award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. She was the recipient of the APA/National Institute of Mental Health Vestermark Award in Psychiatric Education and the APA Alexandra Symonds Award for contributions in the advancement of women in leadership and in women’s health. Dr. Bernstein has devoted her entire career in medicine to the education and training of the next generation of psychiatrists. She completed medical school at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Following an internship in Internal Medicine at St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Medical Center in New York, she completed her psychiatric residency training at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Dr. Bernstein is active in many national psychiatric associations in addition to the APA. These include the American College of Psychiatrists (she was elected to the Board of Regents in 2012), the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry, and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, among others. In 2003, Dr. Bernstein was selected as a Fellow in ELAM (Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine), a national program designed to promote leadership for women in medicine. In 2005, she completed the Physician Leadership Development Program at NYU as well as the Graduate Medical Education Leadership Program of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). In 2010, Dr. Bernstein was appointed to the Board of Directors of the ACGME—the body that accredits the more than 8,000 residency and fellowship training programs in the United States. Dr. Bernstein has written numerous articles and chapters on psychiatric education and has served as a peer reviewer for the American Journal of Psychiatry and Academic Psychiatry. She has served on the
editorial boards of Academic Psychiatry, the Journal of Psychiatric Services, and Focus, has presented at more than 70 conferences and meetings, and has been the recipient of a number of visiting professorships. Dr. Bernstein hosts a weekly call-in show for consumers on Sirius Radio’s Doctor Radio Channel, which is sponsored by the NYU Langone Medical Center.
François Bompart, M.D., is vice president, deputy head, and medical director of the Sanofi Access to Medicines Department. This department brings together the Sanofi Group’s areas of expertise to address the challenge of access to health care in developing and emerging countries for specific diseases: malaria, tuberculosis, sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis, as well as mental illnesses and epilepsy. Since 2012 he has served as the chairperson of the Global Health Initiative (GHI) of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations. The GHI gathers the research‐based European pharmaceutical companies, which are actively engaged in initiatives to improve access to health care around the world.
Akosua Bonsu, R.N., is a mental health nurse who is currently serving as the Eastern Regional Hospital mental health coordinator. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Ghana.
Fiona Dunbar, MBCh.B., MFPM, is the vice president of Global Medical Affairs in Janssen’s Global Commercial Strategy Organization. She joined Janssen in 1988 and has held various positions in clinical research, pharmacovigilance, and medical affairs in Canada and South Africa. She was appointed to her global position and established the Global Medical Affairs function in 2007. Prior to joining Janssen, she was a medical officer at the South African Institute of Medical Research. She holds an MBCh.B. from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, and an MFPM from the Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom.
Julian Eaton, M.Sc., MBBS, MRC Psych., is a British psychiatrist and senior mental health advisor for CBM, based in Lomé, Togo. His work involves engaging with governments and other service providers to strengthen mental health systems, a process that is strongly linked to the World Health Organization’s Mental Health Gap Action Program, of which CBM has been a key supporter since its inception. He also focuses on promoting CBM’s broader priority of working for an inclusive society where service users are empowered to participate in processes of policy
and legislation development as well as their implementation. CBM aims to promote meaningful application of evidence-based practice. He has published on issues relating to scaling up mental health services in low-income countries and empowerment of service users. In 2015 he started a role as a lecturer and a Ph.D. candidate at the Centre for Global Mental Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine alongside his global mental health work.
Tedla Giorgis, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist with more than 35 years of experience. Dr. Giorgis has consulted in the areas of clinical psychology, mental health services strategies, and organizational development with several organizations, including the World Bank, Center for Population and Development Activities, UNICEF, Ethiopia–Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), and more. He has extensive international work experience, including in 15 African countries, India, and the Caribbean. Dr. Giorgis has several refereed publications, and directed the International Mental Health Division in the Washington, DC, Department of Mental Health for 28 years. Currently he is an international and mental health advisor to Ethiopia–FMOH. He is involved in the Mental Health Gap Action Program and Program for Improving Mental Health Care projects supported by the World Health Organization and Department for International Development, respectively.
Martha Gyansa-Lutterodt, M.Sc., B.Pharm., is the director of pharmaceutical services and also the chief pharmacist of Ghana. She attended Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, Leeds University, United Kingdom, and Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration’s School of Governance and Leadership. She serves on several national and international boards, including National Institute for Clinical Excellence International U.K. and is an expert member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Committee on Medicines Policies and Management in Geneva. She has served on several WHO and World Trade Organization, West African Health Organization consultations on Trade Related International Property Rights (TRIPS) as well as medicine policies. She has several publications on various topics such as TRIPS, DOHA Declaration, access to medicines, and policy options for Ghana. She has also published an article titled “Antibiotic Resistance in Ghana” through the Lancet Infectious Diseases Journal, among others. She is also the chair for the Ghana chapter of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research.
She has coordinated several assessments of the pharmaceutical sector in Ghana with meaningful contributions to the health sector dialogue. As one of the drafters of Ghana’s Health Policy 2007, she believes in evidence-based policy decision making. She is constantly exploring ways of improving the processes that allow health policies to move into practice that provides sustainable outcomes, especially for the most vulnerable. Ms. Gyansa-Lutterodt is a Fellow of the West African College of Pharmacists and a Foundation Fellow of the Ghana College of Pharmacists. She is the current chair for Ghana’s Antimicrobial Resistance Working Group. She was recognized and awarded for her contribution to pharmacy development and practice in Ghana by the 2012 Ghana Women of Excellence Awards.
Ahmed Heshmat, M.B.A., M.S., has more than 25 years of experience working in postconflict and fragile countries, including Afghanistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and West Bank/Gaza. He has held long-term senior management and team leader positions in difficult and complex situations, including Afghanistan , Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Yemen; his responsibilities included networking and liaison with multiple stakeholders and drafting feasible and possible scenarios. He is familiar with the U.S. Agency for International Development, European Union, and World Health Organization principles, methods, and guidelines for project delivery, operations, management, monitoring, evaluation, and financial affairs. He has an M.B.A. from the Business School of the University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, UK, and a master’s degree in Psychiatry & Neurology from Cairo University, Egypt. He has more than 25 years of comprehensive experience in the public health care system, with emphases on mental health and psychosocial support, decentralized management systems, health reform, monitoring and evaluation, maternal and child health care, reproductive health, organizational and individual capacity building as well as in Total Quality Management in health services. Also, he has experience in the fields of health system research, health education, quality client service, and human resource development.
Sylvia Kaaya, M.D., Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Psychiatry and Mental Health Department of the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences located in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. She is the current dean of the School of Medicine and is involved in the training of medical undergraduates and postgraduates. During her period as chair of the Department of Psychiatry, she worked with colleagues to initiate the
postgraduate Master of Medicine Psychiatry program. Her clinical commitments include mental health service provision within a mental health team for a catchment area where residents with the lowest socioeconomic status in the Dar es Salaam region reside. Her research interests have focused on interventions to reduce risky sexual and drug use behaviors in adolescents, and recognition and prevention of depression in perinatal women living with HIV. She also served as the Co-Investigator for a technical support subgrant for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief-supported HIV care and treatment program in Dar es Salaam.
K. Oğuz Karamustafalioğlu, M.D., is a professor of psychiatry in Üsküdar University in Istanbul, Turkey. Most of his publications relate to depression and anxiety. He participated in the Ministerial Mental Health Conference of Europe as a Turkish Delegate. He has been advising in the mental health systems since 1999, including post-disaster work. He is currently the Ambassador to Turkey of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology.
David Kiima, MBCh.B., MRC Psych., is the director of mental health in the Ministry of Medical Services in Kenya. He obtained his MBCh.B. and Master of Medicine at the University of Nairobi. He has a Diploma in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry from the Institute of Psychiatry London. He has worked for the Kenyan government as a medical officer since 1981; a consultant psychiatrist (1987–1992); the deputy director of mental health (1992–1997); and the director of mental health (since 1998). He participated in the development of the World Health Organization (WHO) Resource Book on Mental Health, Human Rights and Legislation 2005 as well as the WHO Mental Health Policy and Service Guidance Package 2003.
Joyce Kingori, M.Sc., M.S., has worked at BasicNeeds UK since 2005 as the country program manager responsible for Kenya and South Sudan. She has focused on the topics of Kenya and South Sudan strategy development, resource mobilization, donor liaison, partner development, monitoring, shared learning, gender- and public health–related policy engagement, representation, and new business development. She directly reports to the director of corporate services at BasicNeeds UK. Prior to this position, she worked for 5 years at the Africa Medical Research Foundation (AMREF) in Kenya as the community-based health unit manager. She was responsible for the strategy, fundraising, and capacity
building of the health workforce in the region as well as monitoring and evaluation. She participated in several evaluation missions. She also designed the community tuberculosis program in both urban slums and hard-to-reach districts in Kenya. She had previously worked at AMREF in the capacity of a gender support program officer in Kenya, where she spearheaded the mainstreaming of gender in all programs, monitoring, and evaluations.
Paul G. Kioy, MBCh.B., M.Sc., is a neurologist and neurophysiologist, associate professor, and former chairman of the Medical Physiology Department at the University of Nairobi. He also serves as chairman of the National Epilepsy Coordination Committee, which was founded in 2010; chairman of the Kenya Society for Epilepsy; and founder chairman of Society of Neuroscientists of Africa. He is a former associate dean of preclinical sciences former chairman Medical Physiology Department and former chairman of the Kenya Physiology Society.
Humphrey Kofie, M.Phil., is executive secretary for the Mental Health Society of Ghana. Previously, he served as a subproject officer for the Ghana Poverty Reduction Project and the Social Investment Fund, and assisted in the initiation of socioeconomic projects to reduce poverty by providing program and advisory support. He also worked as a project officer with the Health Foundation of Ghana, where he assisted in the development of health programs in several regions throughout Ghana. He served as the member of a delegation through the Ghana Government in the Sixth Session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and has served as a facilitator in various capacities involving community mental health care delivery. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Sociology at the University of Ghana, and a Master of Philosophy degree in Social Work with an emphasis on the development and strategic planning for social welfare and social issues in contemporary Ghana.
Lily Kpobi, M.S., M.P.H., is as an assistant lecturer with the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Ghana School of Medicine & Dentistry, and practices as a clinical psychologist in the leading teaching hospital in Ghana. She recently completed a second master’s degree in Public Mental Health, where her research explored the barriers and facilitators for the use of the new mental health information system at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital. She also has been a key player in recent at-
tempts at task shifting in mental health care through the placement of psychology graduates within various communities as part of their National Service. Her role has been to facilitate the placement, training, and supervision of these community mental health workers. Her dream is to see mental health care elevated into a position of importance in Ghanaian health discourse as well as in creating awareness about mental illness and the experience of living with it.
Alan Leshner, Ph.D., M.S., is chief executive officer, emeritus, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and former executive publisher of the journal Science. Before this position, Dr. Leshner was director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health. He also served as deputy director and acting director of the National Institute of Mental Health, and in several roles at the National Science Foundation. Before joining the government, Dr. Leshner was professor of psychology at Bucknell University. Dr. Leshner is an elected Fellow of AAAS, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Public Administration, and many other professional societies. He is a member and served on the Governing Council of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. He was appointed by President George W. Bush to the National Science Board in 2004, and then reappointed by President Obama in 2011. Dr. Leshner received Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Physiological Psychology from Rutgers University and an A.B. in Psychology from Franklin and Marshall College. He has been awarded seven honorary Doctor of Science degrees.
Hong Ma, M.D., holds the titles of senior psychiatric doctor of Peking University Institute of Mental Health; executive director of the National Center for Mental Health, China-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and deputy director, Office of National Mental Health Programs, Ministry of Health. Dr. Ma has worked as a clinical psychiatrist since the 1980s, specializing in crisis intervention and prevention. Dr. Ma performed many crisis interventions for survivors of natural disasters and man-made events. She is also interested in the development and improvement of the mental health care system and the integration of psychiatric hospital and community resources as a program officer of the Department of Disease Control of China’s Ministry of Health (MoH). Since 2004, Dr. Ma has managed and led the greatest project regarding mental health, entitled “government-supplemented treatment for local
severe mental disorders” (the “686 Project”) funded by the MoH, which built the database of psychotic patients and provided free treatment and follow-up for poor patients in demonstration sites. The project has become the routine work of the MoH. Dr. Ma also worked closely with the Chinese government in terms of public health, health promotion and disease prevention, and development of mental health legislation and policy making. She also led or participated in many international programs. The experience she gained from all the national and international projects was abundant, including projects administration and collaboration with other researchers and organizations/agencies.
Imran Manji, B.Pharm., is a senior pharmacist at the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) and an adjunct assistant professor at the Purdue University College of Pharmacy. Based in Eldoret, Kenya, he graduated with a Bachelor of Pharmacy from the University of Nairobi and joined the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, one of the partner institutions of AMPATH. He oversees the pharmacy activities of AMPATH’s Primary Health Care and Chronic Disease Management Programs, where his main areas of focus are in exploring innovative ways of sustainably improving the access to quality medicines in rural health facilities within western Kenya. He has led the development of the Revolving Fund Pharmacy model, an innovative model for which he is the lead implementer and manager. This is just one of the models he has developed, implemented, and managed. He also manages one of the first pharmacist-run Anticoagulation Clinics in sub-Saharan Africa at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Eldoret. In addition, he precepts advanced clerkship rotation students from the Purdue University College of Pharmacy, clinical pharmacy interns from the University of Nairobi, and pharmacy residents in the Global Health Pharmacy Residency Exchange Program. He is pursuing an M.S. in Global Health: Non-Communicable Diseases at the University of Edinburgh.
Ana-Claire Meyer, M.D., MSHS, is an assistant professor of neurology at the Yale School of Medicine and visiting scientist at the Kenya Medical Research Institute. Dr. Meyer leads research with the primary goal of expanding access to neurological care to underserved populations domestically and to underserved regions globally. Her research focuses on epilepsy treatment and infectious diseases of the nervous system. She has active projects focused on the global burden of disease due to epilepsy, preventive strategies for cryptococcal meningitis, and evaluation of
health and economic outcomes of Kenyans with HIV-associated cognitive impairment. She also works to improve access to neurology training for physicians from underserved regions.
Osman Miyanji, M.D., is a senior consultant in pediatrics and pediatric neurology at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi & Gertrude’s Children Hospital. Also, he is an Honorary Lecturer at Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. He is founder/director (1982) and current chair of the Board of Directors (since 1997) of the Kenya Association for the Welfare of People with Epilepsy. He is an affiliate of the International Bureau for Epilepsy, and one of the founders of Kenya Society of Epilepsy, an affiliate of the International League Against Epilepsy.
Solomon Mpoke, Ph.D., E.M.B.A., is the director and chief research officer, Centre for Biotechnology Research and Development, at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). Previously he was the head of the KEMRI Graduate School of Health Sciences and chief research officer (training). He was the graduate program coordinator at the Institute of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, and coordinator of the Infectious Diseases Program at KEMRI/Japan International Cooperation Agency project. Dr. Mpoke has an Executive Master of Business Administration from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology; was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco; completed his Doctorate in the Department of Biology at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut; and completed his B.S. at the University of Nairobi. He is a member of the Medical Sciences Advisory Research Committee, Ministry of Health; member of the task force to review and evaluate scientific information on safety of genetically-modified foods on human health, 2012/2014; member of the National Tobacco Control Board; and an executive member of the African Field Epidemiology Network.
Richard Otieno Muga, M.D., is currently a full-time associate professor at the Great Lakes University of Kisumu and deputy vice chancellor. He is responsible for teaching Health Policy, District Health Systems Development, and Child Health at the Master’s level to students of Community Health and Development. He has 12 years of teaching experience. He has published a number of papers in peer-reviewed journals and supervised a number of master’s theses, and conducts innovative research on health
systems strengthening. He was appointed chair of the National Hospital Insurance Fund in 2010 by the President of Kenya. He holds an M.D. with specialist training in Child Health and Public Health. In addition, he has postgraduate training in Health Systems Management (Israel) and Tropical Diseases (Nairobi). His strengths include leadership, teaching, health systems management, planning of health services, and strategic public-sector negotiations. Previously, he served as chief executive officer of the National Coordination Agency for Population and Development in the Ministry of Planning and National Development. During this time he led the agency’s work on public-private partnerships, especially the output-based Aid on Reproductive Health. Part of his mandate was high-level advocacy for policy change for universal coverage for health care. His public service experience involved leadership and health systems management, and hospital management at different levels in the health sector. For 5 years he was director of medical services for Kenya (director general in Ministry of Health). For another 5 years he was regional director of health services. He served as chair of the Pharmacy and Poison Board of Kenya as well as the registrar for the Medical Practitioner and Dentist Board of Kenya. He served as a member of the Nursing Council of Kenya for 5 years, during which he introduced capacity-building programs for nurses. He chaired the National Taskforce on Kenya Medical Supplies Agency, responsible for procurement of drugs and supply chain management. Currently, he is on the advisor’s team for the Minister for Medical Services on Policy Reform in Health. He has had the opportunity to interact in different local and international forums, including World Health Organization conferences in Geneva and short courses on strategic public-sector negotiations at Harvard University. During his career in public service, he received Head of State awards for dedicated service to the public, including Moran of the Burning Spear, 2001, and Order of the Grand Warrior, 1994.
John Munyu is the chief executive officer of the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority, the governmental organization in charge of promoting health care for Kenyans through the procurement and distribution of quality medical commodities.
Victoria Mutiso, Ph.D., has gained extensive experience in community mental health over the past 7 years. She has just concluded a study as Principal Investigator on task shifting in community mental health, where she spearheaded the integration of mental health services in prima-
ry health care facilities in a rural district in Kenya, bringing together traditional faith healers and nurses and clinical officers. She was instrumental in starting mental health literacy days at the rural facilities; this model has been emulated by other community health facilities in neighboring districts. She has been a point of contact with a network of community health workers that she established in these districts, and worked with the network on community mobilization. She also worked with nurses and clinical officers in the health facilities in those same districts. She has coordinated and co-led focus groups in various communities, including adapting instruments for local context for use with target populations.
Joyce Nato, M.D., is a psychiatrist who has been working with the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2003. Prior to this, she worked with Ministry of Health at all levels since 1986 (district, provincial, and national levels), rising through ranks to the head of noncommunicable disease (NCD) prevention and control at the Ministry national level. She used that experience when she joined WHO as the program officer for prevention and control of NCDs, mental health problems, and tobacco use.
Chris Natt, M.Sc., M.A., is a designer and strategist currently working with the HELIX Centre, a studio of designers and clinical researchers based at St. Mary’s Hospital in London. He is a graduate of the Innovation Design Engineering Masters at the Royal College of Art. His recent work includes the development of a waterless toilet system in Madagascar and a collection of innovations to help in the safe removal of landmines from land that have been devastated by war.
David Ndetei, MBCh.B., D.P.M., MRC Psych., M.D., FRCPsych., is a professor of psychiatry at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, and the founding director of the Africa Mental Health Foundation, a nongovernmental organization dedicated to research for evidence-based policy and practice in mental health, and promotion of neurological health and healthy behavior. His passion is research to generate evidence for policy and best practice in the provision of affordable, appropriate, available, and accessible mental health services for all. He is the current chair of the Africa Division of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (UK) and Zone 14 representative of the World Psychiatric Association. He has served as the Principal Investigator for nearly all Kenyan published clinical and community epidemiological studies on mental health. He has authored 6
books and 21 monographs, and more than 250 publications in peer-reviewed journals.
Frank Njenga, M.D., is former chair of National Agency for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse, the founding president of the African Association of Psychiatrists & Allied Professions, the former chair of the Kenya Psychiatric Association, and a consultant psychiatrist in Kenya with a special interest in youth and drug addiction. He was trained in both Kenya and the United Kingdom. He has an M.D. and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (UK). Besides his work in the medical field, he has, for the past 25 years, been involved in the expansion of Democratic space, as founder chair of the Institute of Education in Democracy. As a scientist he has lectured extensively throughout the world and is a much sought-after expert who has appeared in many local and global media outlets, BBC, and CNN. He also works as a teacher, author, and social commentator. For many years, he was the host of the popular television program Frankly Speaking. The program focused on many social issues, including mental health and addiction. He is extensively published in many peer-reviewed journals and writes books for children.
Kwadwo Obeng, M.D., is a resident in Psychiatry at the Ghana College of Physicians. He currently practices at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, Pantang Hospital, and the University of Ghana. He is involved in psychiatric awareness creation via mass media communication. He is also involved in clinical training and the examination of medical students from the University of Ghana Medical School, as well as for student medical assistants from Central University.
Sally-Ann Ohene, M.D., graduated from the University of Ghana Medical School. She is a pediatrician by training, and now serves as a public health physician currently working at the World Health Organization Country Office in Ghana. She is the disease prevention and control officer and is responsible for the oversight of programs involving noncommunicable diseases, including mental health.
Sammy Ohene, MBCh.B., is head of psychiatry at the University of Ghana Medical School and Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana. After completing his basic medical course in the University of Ghana, he went on to train in Psychiatry at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Nigeria, before returning to take up a teaching position in his old
medical school. He also studied Substance Abuse in Cleveland, Ohio. He is also a consultant psychiatrist for the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, teaching undergraduates and training residents. Dr. Ohene has been engaged in delivery of and research into various aspects of mental health in West Africa for more than 25 years. A member of the technical committee of the Mental Health Authority of Ghana, he has written and made presentations on mental health in Ghana at many international meetings. Dr. Ohene holds Fellowships in Psychiatry from the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons as well as the West African College of Physicians, where he has been chief examiner in Psychiatry. He is a member of the American Psychiatric Association and the Commission on African Affaires of the International League Against Epilepsy. He also chairs the board of the Mental Health Society of Ghana.
Akwasi Osei, MBCh.B., FWACP, FGCP, is the chief psychiatrist of Ghana Health Service and a part-time lecturer in various medical institutions in Ghana. He was one of the key technical drafters and the main advocate for the passage of the Mental Health Bill for Ghana.
Vikram Patel, MRC Psych., Ph.D., F.Med.Sci., is affiliated with the Centre for Global Mental Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He is also the co-director of the Centre for Chronic Conditions and Injuries for the Public Health Foundation of India. He is a psychiatrist with a primary interest in global mental health. He is supported by a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship in Clinical Science. He is also the co-founder of Sangath, an Indian nongovernmental organization that has pioneered task-sharing experiments in the areas of child development, adolescent health, and mental health. In 2011, he was appointed to two Government of India health committees, the Mental Health Policy Group (which drafted India’s first national mental health policy, launched in October 2014) and the National Rural Health Mission Accredited Social Health Activist Mentoring Group. He also serves on three World Health Organization committees. He was co-chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Grand Challenges in Global Mental Health, and lead editor of the Disease Control Priorities Network volume on mental, neurological, and substance use disorders, as well as the lead editor of the Lancet series on global mental health (2007 and 2011), the PLoS Medicine series on packages of care for mental disorders (2009) and the series on Global Mental Health Practice (2012 onward), and co-editor of the International Journal of Epidemiology series on psychiatric
epidemiology and global mental health (2014). He is editor of two new Oxford University Press textbooks on global mental health (Global Mental Health: Principles and Practice, 2013, and Global Mental Health Trials, 2014).
Beverly Pringle, Ph.D., is chief of the Global Mental Health Research Program at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), where she provides scientific leadership for global research activities, monitors NIMH’s international grants and activities, and provides technical consultation to the global mental health research community. She completed a fellowship with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2012, providing technical assistance to the Mozambique Ministry of Health. Dr. Pringle has also served as chief of the Services Research Branch at the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Before joining the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Pringle was senior research associate and managing director at Policy Studies Associates, where she directed analysis, policy studies, and research in education. She also has served as supervisor of Virginia’s statewide Migrant Education Program and as assistant director of State & Federal Programs for Adrian Public Schools, Michigan. Dr. Pringle received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and completed an internship at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. Her clinical training included pediatric psychology; affective and anxiety disorders in children; traumatic brain injury; individual, group, and family therapy; domestic violence; and psychodiagnostic and behavioral assessment. Dr. Pringle’s research has covered a variety of topics, including pathways to diagnosis and services for children with autism; intervention services for adolescent drug abuse; pain, memory, and distress management in pediatric cancer patients; parent behaviors in pediatric settings; and education policy for underserved and disadvantaged populations.
Andrew Schroeder, Ph.D., M.P.P., is director of research and analysis for Direct Relief. He is a specialist in data analysis and geographic information systems (GISs) for humanitarian assistance. In 2013 Dr. Schroeder and Direct Relief were awarded the President’s award from Esri for outstanding applications of GIS to humanitarian operations. In 2014 Direct Relief’s work in humanitarian analytics was recognized by Fast Company, which named Direct Relief 1 of the world’s 10 most innovative nonprofits. He is a member of the global advisory board for the 1 Million Community Health Workers Campaign and architect of the Cam-
paign’s Operations Room mapping applications. He founded the working group in humanitarian unmanned aerial vehicles for Nethope, and is a member of the advisory board of UAViators, where he is helping to pioneer innovation in the use of geospatial technologies for community resilience and disaster response. He received his Ph.D. in Social and Cultural Analysis from New York University and his Master’s in Public Policy from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.
Fred Siyoi, B.Pharm., is the deputy registrar at the Pharmacy and Poisons Board in Kenya. He has more than 26 years of work experience in different settings. He has worked in hospital pharmacies, supply chain management, and policy making at the Ministry level. He currently holds a position as a health products regulator in Kenya. Since 2005, he has been involved in various regional and global harmonization initiatives.
Stephanie Smith, M.D., is a psychiatrist and incoming faculty member in the Division of Psychosomatic Medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Cornell University with a degree in Philosophy. She completed medical school at the University of Minnesota and a General Psychiatry residency at Boston Medical Center. In 2011, Dr. Smith was the inaugural Pagenel Fellow in Global Mental Health Delivery with Partners In Health (Inshuti Mu Buzima [IMB]) in Rwanda and became the director of the IMB mental health program. In collaboration with the Rwandan Ministry of Health, she developed and implemented a community-based model of mental health care focused on integrating mental health into primary care. This model has recently received a proof-of-concept grant from Grand Challenges Canada, and Dr. Smith is currently leading a mixed methods evaluation of the model with the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey, MBCh.B., M.P.H., is the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI’s) senior technical director, Africa Region, and director of Project Fives Alive! (PFA!). Currently operating at a national scale after starting in three districts in 2008, PFA! is a partnership among the IHI, the United States, and the National Catholic Health Service, Ghana working in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service to accelerate the reduction of under-5 mortality in Ghana through the application of quality improvement methods. In this role, Dr. Sodzi-Tettey provides
strategic, technical, and operational leadership in support of the IHI’s growing work in Africa in addition to working to improve the processes of maternal and child health services at a national scale in Ghana. Dr. Sodzi-Tettey is a public health physician, has years of experience in district medical practice, is the immediate past vice president of the Ghana Medical Association, and writes a weekly column online and in Ghana’s Daily Graphic titled “Affirmatively Disruptive.” He serves on the governing boards of Ghana’s National Health Insurance Authority, the African Media and Malaria Research Network, and the Council of the University of Health and Allied Sciences.
Cynthia Sottie, M.D., M.P.H., is a public health physician. She is currently the focal person for mental health at the Ghana Health Service Headquarters. Her work involves planning and coordinating mental health activities within the Ghana Health Service. She is the national coordinator of the World Health Organization/Ministry of Health 4-year project, “Fight Against Epilepsy,” which aims to improve access to epilepsy services in Ghana. She was the medical superintendent of Achimota Hospital for 8 years. Her work as medical superintendent involved providing strategic oversight for the hospital. During her tenure in office, the hospital won the best facility (district hospital category) for the year in the Greater Accra Region for 3 consecutive years. She was the national coordinator for the 2-year Neonatal Quality Improvement Initiative in Ghana in 2009. Dr. Sottie is a member of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons. She obtained her M.D. from the Vinnitsa Medical Institute, Ukraine; has a postgraduate diploma in Psychiatry from the University of Benin Teaching Hospital; an M.P.H. from the University of Ghana; and a certificate in Health Administration and Management from Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration.
Catherine Syengo-Mutisya, MBCh.B., M.Med., is a consultant psychiatrist who holds a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery (MBCh.B.) and a Master’s degree in Medicine (M.Med.) in Psychiatry from the University of Nairobi. She is the deputy medical superintendent at Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital. She is among Kenya’s “Top 40 Under 40 Women 2014” who were nominated by the public for having made significant achievements in the society and economy, chosen by a panel of judges and published in the Business Daily on June 20, 2014. She is a director and a consultant at the Nairobi Mental Health Services Medical Centre and the Nairobi Parenting Clinic compa-
ny limited. She is a senior assistant director of medical services for the Ministry of Health, a member of the National Social Security Fund Medical Board, and a member of the National Medical Board Ministry of Health. She is greatly known for her health talks on family media (television and radio), N.T.V., K24, Citizen T.V., K.T.N. T.V., G.B.S. T.V., Family TV, Kiss T.V. Kass TV, Transworld Radio, Classic radio, Kiss radio, Nation Newspaper, Standard Newspaper, and The Star Newspaper.
Graham Thornicroft, M.D., Ph.D., M.Sc., is professor of community psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London (KCL), and is a member of the Health Service and Population Research Department at KCL, and the Centre for Global Mental Health, a joint center between King’s Health Partners and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He also works as a consultant psychiatrist at South London & Maudsley National Health Service Foundation Trust in a local community mental health early intervention team in Lambeth. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and is a National Institute of Health Research Senior Investigator. Dr. Thornicroft received his undergraduate degree in Social and Political Science at Cambridge University, studied Medicine at Guy’s Hospital, and trained in Psychiatry at the Maudsley and Johns Hopkins Hospitals. He earned an M.Sc. in Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and a Ph.D. at the University of London. Dr. Thornicroft has made significant contributions to the development of mental health policy in England, including chairing the External Reference Group for the National Service Framework for Mental Health, the national mental health plan for England for 1999 to 2009. He is also active in global mental health; for example, he chaired the World Health Organization Guideline Development Group for the Mental Health Gap Action Program Intervention Guide, a practical support for primary care staff to treat people with mental, neurological, and substance use disorders in low- and lower-middle incomes. His areas of research expertise include stigma and discrimination, mental health needs assessment, cost-effectiveness evaluations of mental health treatments, service user-led research, implementation science, and global mental health. Dr. Thornicroft has authored or edited 29 books and 365 peer-reviewed papers in PubMed.
Linda Vanotoo, MBCh.B., M.Sc., EMBA, is regional director of health service for the Greater Accra Region in Ghana. Dr. Vanotoo holds a
B.Sc. in Human Biology and an MBCh.B. from the School of Medical Sciences of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. She holds a Master of Tropical Pediatrics degree from Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and certificates in Epidemiology from Tufts University in Boston and Kenyatta University, Kenya. She also has a certificate in Applied Epidemiology from Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. Dr. Vanotoo has an Executive Master’s in Business Administration (EMBA) degree from Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, Ghana, and she is a Fellow of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons. She has attended several training programs, including Managing Public Health Interventions and Middle Level Management for Expanded Program on Immunizations. She has presented several papers both nationally and internationally on maternal, newborn, and family planning health issues. Dr. Vanotoo has occupied several positions within the Ghana Health Service, including head of the Pediatrics Department at Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital in Sekondi; metropolitan director of health services of the Shama Ahanta East Metropolis in Sekondi; deputy regional director in charge of public health for Western Region; and regional director of health services for Western Region. Dr. Vanotoo has received recognition for her work, including the naming of a street after her in Anaji via Takoradi in Western Region and winning the Poster Presentation award at the first Fetal Growth Conference held in Birmingham, United Kingdom. She is the founder of the “Promote Maternal & Infant Survival Excellence (PROMISE) Initiative.”
Ivaylo Vlaev, Ph.D., M.Sc., is a professor of behavioral science at Warwick Business School (University of Warwick) and Visiting Professor at Imperial College London. His research is published in peer-reviewed academic journals, book chapters, and government reports. Key research interests are in behavioral economics, which is the science of human decision making in various domains (social, financial, medical). Thus his work is a convergence of psychology, neuroscience, and economics, which achieves results that none of the disciplines can achieve by themselves. Specific research topics are behavior change, consumer psychology, cooperation, and well-being. His research also illustrates how the synergy of methods such as experimentation (field and lab), brain imaging, and quantitative modeling can achieve results that neither method can achieve alone. He is a co-author of the U.K. Cabinet Office MINDSPACE report, which provides a framework for designing effective policy using the latest insights from the field of behavioral econom-
ics. MINDSPACE is widely used across both local and central government and in the commercial sector.
Peter Waiganjo Wagacha, Ph.D., M.Sc., is an associate professor at the School of Computing & Informatics, University of Nairobi. He teaches and is involved in research. He is working with students to develop innovative ideas and solutions. His research and extension work in Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) is in the areas of health informatics; mobility and urban transportation; human language technology for local languages; and enhancing information and communication technologies in education. He is interested in the application of artificial intelligence and mobile technology in ICT4D. Currently, he is involved in teaching and supervising M.Sc. Applied Computer Science and Ph.D. students in the area of Health Informatics. In addition, he is a co-lead in an ongoing collaboration that is providing technical support to the Ministry of Health Division of Health Informatics and Monitoring & Evaluation. They are building technical capacity in health information systems and building a community of developers for the health sector. He advocates for evidence-based/data-driven decision making.
Benedict Weobong, Ph.D., M.Sc., is a Ghanaian public health mental health epidemiologist with a psychology background. He is currently with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine as a Research Fellow in the Department/Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health. He is currently based in Sangath-Goa, playing two roles: as trials manager for the PREMIUM trials and Co-Investigator on the SHARE trial. He has been involved in mental health research since joining the Kintampo Health Research Centre in Ghana in 2002. A significant part of this work has involved epidemiological research, particularly with pregnant and postpartum women in Kintampo-Ghana. His research interests include developing and testing packages of care for the treatment of common mental disorders and alcohol use disorders, delivered using lay counselors, and developing interventions that promote maternal well-being and child development.
Peter Badimak Yaro is a leading public mental health expert in Ghana and an advocate for poor and vulnerable people, especially those with mental disorders. Mr. Yaro has vast experience in development work spanning nearly two decades. Over the past 10 years, he has led the oper-
ations of BasicNeeds (a global mental health and development organization) in Ghana, actively promoting community-based mental health treatment services for persons with mental illness or epilepsy, supporting practical activities that improve incomes and livelihoods of mental health service users and their primary careers and families, influencing public policies and programs to include mental health, and strengthening service users and their primary careers to advocate for themselves. Mr. Yaro’s research interests include practices of traditional healers and alternative/ informal health care services for mental disorders, self-advocacy of mental health service users, and mental health in prisons. He also has interests in social anthropology.
