Integrating a Gender Lens in the Fight Against Malaria: A dialogue exploring the power of women’s leadership in Malaria Eradication

April 8-10, 2024

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

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The 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 79), will take place in New York from 10 – 24 September. You will be participating in an official side event on 23 September titled, “Integrating a Gender Lens in the Fight Against Malaria: A dialogue exploring the power of women’s leadership in malaria eradication,” hosted by WomenLift Health and the RBM Partnership to End Malaria.

Event Overview

Malaria remains one of the world’s killer diseases, claiming lives and countries’ progress especially in areas with limited resources. The impact of malaria is greater among marginalized communities and particularly affects women and children. Although women play a critical role in healthcare they are underrepresented, holding just a quarter of leadership positions across the global health space.

This session will explore how reimagining leadership, particularly by elevating women in leadership roles, can significantly impact the fight against malaria, especially in the context of climate change, and drive better health outcomes.

Panel Objectives

Showcase the critical role of women leaders in driving health initiatives, particularly in malaria control and elimination, and in addressing climate change impacts.
Demonstrate how collaboration between stakeholders from different sectors to strengthen the fight against malaria and address climate change impacts.
Provide a platform for sharing successful strategies and stories of women leaders in malaria control, health sectors, and climate change adaptation.
Advocate for policies and institutional changes that support gender equality in leadership, effective malaria control, and climate change adaptation.
Highlight the need for sustained investment in malaria elimination, women’s leadership programs, and climate change adaptation initiatives.

Please contact the WomenLift Health team for any questions regarding the event at communications@womenlifthealth.org.

Speakers

Dr. Charles Michael Adekunle

Chief Executive Officer, RBM Partnership to End Malaria

Dr Michael Adekunle Charles is the Chief Executive Officer at the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, which brings together over 500 partners dedicated to eliminating the disease. His leadership is dedicated to putting malaria high on the global health agenda and pursuing interventions that holistically address the disease and the way it intersects with other factors such as climate, gender, poverty and inequity. He is passionate about coordinating malaria interventions, strengthening health systems and working with partners around the world to bring together the right tools to combat the disease. A seasoned leader and medical doctor, Dr. Charles also served at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies for 17 years, where he was at the helm of strategically aligning the organisation's Africa vision to meet evolving needs. He is an ardent humanitarian and international diplomat who has led teams around the world to deliver diverse and impactful humanitarian and development programmes.

Amie Batson

President, WomenLift Health

Amie Batson, President of WomenLift Health, is an internationally recognised leader in global health with a 30-year career focused on innovation and strategic partnerships. Her extensive experience includes pivotal roles as Chief Strategy Officer at PATH, Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator at USAID, and over a decade at the World Bank where she pioneered innovative health financing mechanisms. Batson's work in immunisation and vaccine financing has unlocked billions of dollars in new funding and led to the establishment of key global health initiatives like Gavi and the Global Financing Facility. She also held a joint appointment at WHO and UNICEF, where she designed the Vaccine Independence Initiative. A Yale University graduate with a Master of Public and Private Management, Batson is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for Global Development and a frequent speaker on global health issues. Her current role at WomenLift Health reflects her commitment to expanding the influence of women leaders in global health and driving systemic change towards gender equality in leadership.

Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Nigeria

Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate

Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Muhammad Ali Pate is the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare in Nigeria. He leads Nigeria’s Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative to improve the health of all Nigerians. Until August 2023, he was the Julio Frenk Professor of Public Health Leadership at Harvard University’s Chan School and Co-chair of the Future of Health and Economic Resilience in Africa (FHERA). He served as the Global Director for Health, Nutrition, and Population for the World Bank Group from 2019 to 2021, where he led the health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He also led Big Win Philanthropy from 2015 to 2018 and served as a visiting professor at Duke University’s Global Health Institute from 2013 to 2015. As Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health (2011-2013), Dr. Pate made significant contributions to polio eradication, vaccine introduction, and primary healthcare through the Save One Million Lives initiative. He also served as the CEO of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) from 2008-2011. He earned his MBBS degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and underwent postgraduate training at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Additionally, he holds a Master of Science in Health Systems Management from University College London and an MBA from Duke University.

Joy Phumaphi

Executive Director, African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA)

Joy Phumaphi is a distinguished global health leader whose decades of service have been dedicated to advancing public health in Africa and enhancing global health security. Her work, spanning key health priorities, including malaria, Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), Reproductive, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMCAH), nutrition, pandemic preparedness and response, and the intersections of gender and climate change with health, aims to transform Africa’s healthcare landscape by improving accessibility, equity, and the response to emerging health threats that significantly affect millions of Africans and the global community. Joy Phumaphi sits on and chairs several boards, where she is a key influencer working to ensure that Africa’s health priorities are recognised and addressed within the global health agenda. She remains an instrumental voice in championing the strengthening of health systems, health financing, and pandemic preparedness, paving the way for Africa to achieve its own health transformations, asserting that a healthy Africa is essential for the continent’s development, peace, and stability. Phumaphi serves as the Executive Secretary of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), a groundbreaking coalition of African Union Heads of State and Government working to eliminate malaria in Africa by 2030. She leads the ALMA Secretariat in supporting the Heads of State and Government’s agenda to drive accountability and action for results, public and private domestic resource mobilisation for malaria, NTDs, and other priorities in Africa’s health development agenda. She also chairs the RBM Partnership to End Malaria and co-chairs the Lancet Pathfinder Commission on Health in the Zero Carbon Economy and is a member of the COVID 19 Task Force on Global Health, Diplomacy and Cooperation.

Dr. Astrid Bonfield

CEO, Malaria No More UK

Dr Bonfield has been the CEO of Malaria No More UK since December 2022. Awarded a CBE in 2014 for her services to charity in the UK and abroad, Dr Bonfield was a co-creator and Chief Executive of The Vision Catalyst Fund and, as Chief Executive of The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, she raised over £100m and successfully implemented eye health programmes in 28 countries throughout the Commonwealth. Under Dr Bonfield’s leadership, The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund became the first investor in the Cluster Munition Coalition which, over an eighteen-month period, successfully secured an international treaty banning cluster bombs. Prior to this, Dr Bonfield developed a policy unit for the Aga Khan Foundation (UK) and represented the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) in Brussels, as well as working as a Programme Development Specialist for the Bernard van Leer Foundation in the Netherlands. Bernard van Leer Foundation focusing on HIV/AIDS and growing up in indigenous societies.

Dr. Daniel Ngamije

Director, WHO Global Malaria Programme

Dr Ngamije served as the Rwandan Minister of Health from February 2020 to November 2022. During this time, he led the development and execution of the Health Sector Strategic Plan as well as the development and implementation of the COVID-19 comprehensive response plan. In a previous role (2018–2019), Dr Ngamije served as the National Programme Officer for Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in the WHO Rwanda country office, based in Kigali. Before that, he spent 10 years (2007–2017) coordinating, for the Rwandan Ministry of Health, the mobilization of resources and implementation of projects funded by multilateral and bilateral partners through the Single Project Implementation Unit (SPIU). Between 2005 and 2007, he coordinated Rwanda’s National Malaria Control Programme. Dr Ngamije is the former Co-chair of the Pandemic Fund, a collaborative partnership that finances critical investments to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response capacities at national, regional and global levels, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries. He is also a member of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB), an independent monitoring and accountability body to ensure preparedness for global health crises.

Dr. Philip Welkhoff

Director, Malaria, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Philip Welkhoff has led the foundation’s Malaria program since 2018 and has concurrently led the Institute for Disease Modeling (IDM) since 2021. Before becoming director of the Malaria program, Philip served as director of research at IDM before it became part of the foundation. In that role, he helped to develop computer simulations of the transmission dynamics of malaria, polio, and other diseases. This work supported public health professionals and scientists in planning eradication strategies. Philip also served as a pro bono external advisor to various Gates Foundation programs, including Agricultural Development and Water, Sanitation & Hygiene. Philip earned dual undergraduate degrees in mathematics and aerospace engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and holds a Ph.D. in applied and computational mathematics from Princeton University. His doctoral work focused on biophysically inspired models of neural circuits for perceptual decision-making. Philip is a 2004 Hertz Fellow and received a Special Achievement by a Hertz Fellow Award in 2009 for his work on malaria modeling. He serves on the board of the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation and is a senior Hertz Fellowship interviewer.

Yacine Djibo

Founder & Executive Director, Speak Up Africa

Yacine Djibo founded Speak Up Africa in 2011 to discover and implement effective, sustainable solutions to the most challenging problems facing the African people. Focusing on strategic communications, policy and advocacy, Speak Up Africa is dedicated to collaborating with African leaders and citizens to take on issues such as malaria, neglected tropical diseases and sanitation in order to save and improve lives. Yacine Djibo currently sits on the Board of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and the Faecal sludge Management Alliance and serves in an advisory capacity to several organizations, including the Malaria Eradication Scientific Alliance (MESA), GeneConvene Global Collaborative and UNITLIFE. Previously, Yacine Djibo worked as the Senegal country director for Malaria No More, where she developed and managed several high-profile national programs to promote malaria prevention and treatment. Prior to devoting her career to the health and well-being of children and families in Africa, Yacine Djibo honed her skills in the areas of business administration, finance and real estate at several private-sector companies.

Session Moderator

Lizz Ntonjira

Director of Communications & Engagement, WomenLift Health

Lizz is a public affairs professional with extensive experience gained within several roles in the public, private, and international development sectors spanning over 17 years. She currently leads the design and implementation of a complex strategy addressing global partner engagement, advocacy and strategic communications to raise awareness about women’s leadership, create a compelling case for change and most importantly, encourage and support concrete actions by women, male allies and influencers for equality in health leadership. Lizz is also an award-winning author of the book #YouthCan and a public speaker on a variety of topics, including, branding & digital media, risk communication & community engagement, adolescent health & advocacy, misinformation and disinformation among others. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Law from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, a post graduate Professional Diploma in Public Relations from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations in the UK, and a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Management from Strathmore University. She is also a Public Policy Management Fellow from Virginia Commonwealth University in the US, and a recipient of former US President Barack Obama’s Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders (2015). Lizz is also a PhD fellow in Healthcare Management at Strathmore Business School.

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Media Release

By registering for this event, you understand and agree that you may be photographed, recorded, and/or videotaped in connection with the event by WomenLift Health and/or its partners during the event. You also agree that WomenLift Health and/or its partners may use your voice, picture, and likeness in any such photographs, video, and/or audio recordings alone, or in combination with other content, in any media for the Event and/or in marketing materials and publications for the Event, without additional permission from you or compensation to you.