Speakers

Dr. Luis Carlos Longoria Gandara

Director, Division for Latin America and the Caribbean, Department of Technical Cooperation, IAEA

Dr. Longoria, a Mexican national, holds an MSc in Nuclear Technology from Surrey University, UK and a PhD in Nuclear Physics from Imperial College, London. He joined the IAEA in February 2012 as director for Technical Cooperation for Latin America and the Caribbean where he is responsible for the implementation of projects proposed by the IAEA Member States. For 13 years Dr. Longoria was the Director of Scientific Research at the Mexican Nuclear Research Institute. Dr. Longoria has conducted important research in many areas where nuclear technology is applied and has published a large number of scientific papers as well as given presentations at many international conferences and symposiums.

Dr. Anne Maryse K'HABORE

Director General of CAMEG and Permanent Secretary of ACAME

Dr. Anne Maryse K’abore is a holder of double degrees: a doctorate in Pharmacy from the University of Paris V (France) and a Master's degree in Management of Health Industries and Biotechnologies from the “Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris (ESCP-Europe)” with more than 14 years of experience, (9 in pharmaceutical industries and 5 in pharmacy management). Her career was focused on the healthcare sector at the private level, through leadership positions in various international multinational companies such as Sanofi Aventis, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Novartis. Dr. K’habore started her first experience at the public level through the General Management of the Central Purchasing of Essential Drugs and Medical Consumables (CAMEG), in Burkina Faso. CAMEG is also the instrument for the implementation of different policies of financial and geographical access to health products, as well as presidential policies of free medicines for pregnant women and children under 5 years old; but also that of family planning which started in July 2020. In addition to her first public experience, she has a second one as Permanent Secretary of ACAME (African Association of Central Medical Stores for Essential Drugs); gathering 22 sub-Saharan African countries (AFO, AFC, Maghreb, Madagascar, etc.) with the main role of building the competences of the member National Purchasing Stores (CNAs), advocacy at the political level on the role of the CNAs, but also solidarity at of the sister purchasing stores level with inter-purchasing stores assistance mechanisms.

Dr. Ahmed E. Ogwell Ouma

Deputy Director, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention

Dr. Ahmed Ogwell currently serves as the Deputy Director at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) — a specialised agency of the African Union (AU). In this capacity, he works with AU Member States and other partners, leading a team of experts in securing Africa’s health through effective preparedness, early detection and rapid response to disease outbreaks and public health emergencies on the continent of Africa. Dr. Ahmed Ogwell has over 25 years of experience in public health as a social and developmental agenda at national, regional, and global levels. He has ably held senior positions in national government, the United Nations (UN) system, non-governmental organisations, and the AU. Dr. Ahmed Ogwell previously worked as an advisor to the World Health Organization Director General and worked at the World Health Organisation Regional office for Africa. Dr. Ahmed Ogwell is an alumnus of the University Of Nairobi School Of Public Health and the Centre for International Health at the University of Bergen in Norway.

Prashant Yadav

Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development

Prashant Yadav is a globally recognized scholar in the area of healthcare supply chains. He is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development, Affiliate Professor at INSEAD and Lecturer at Harvard Medical School. He is the author of many peer-reviewed scientific publications and his work has been featured in prominent print and broadcast media. In addition to his roles in academia and think tank, Prashant serves on the boards of many companies and a venture fund. In his previous roles Prashant has worked as Strategy Leader-Supply Chain at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Vice President of Healthcare at the William Davidson Institute and Faculty at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan; Professor of Supply Chain Management at the MIT-Zaragoza International Logistics Program. He has also provided expert testimony on medical supply chains on multiple occasions in prominent legislative bodies around the world, including the US Congress. Prashant trained as a Chemical Engineer and obtained his PhD in Management Science & Operations Research. He lives in Bethesda, MD in the USA.

Barbara Laurenceau

UNFPA Representative in Benin

Barbara Laurenceau is currently the Country Representative of the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) in Benin. With over 20 years of international experience, she has been working in multiple technical and managerial functions in the field of public health, gender & human rights, humanitarian response and inclusive economic development, with an extended experience with the United Nations System in the Republic of Congo and in Haiti. For the last years, Barbara has played a leadership role in the development of ICT-centric partnerships between national governments, the United Nations, the business sector and local innovation ecosystems, with a focus on adolescent and youth reproductive health, rights and empowerment. Barbara, a French national, holds a Master Degree in International Relations and Economy (Sorbonne University, Paris) and speaks French, English, German, Spanish and Haitian Creole.

Rukia Yacoub

Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, WFP and former Country Director, WFP Ghana

Ms. Rukia Yacoub is Deputy Regional Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) East Africa. Prior to this appointment, she worked as Representative and Country Director of WFP Ghana where she provided effective leadership in aligning WFP's operations to the Government's priorities. Rukia also managed large emergency operations which provided life-saving food assistance to over 6 million people in Yemen and supervised the WFP development programme while fostering strategic partnerships in Egypt. Before joining WFP, she worked with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Italy and Switzerland, with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Operation Lifeline Sudan in Sudan and South Sudan and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Rwanda. Ms. Yacoub has a Master of Science in Human Nutrition from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and brings more than 24 years of experiences in complex humanitarian and development operations.

Paul Molinaro

Chief Operations Support and Logistics at World Health Organization

Mr. Paul Molinaro currently serves in WHO Health Emergency Programme, heading the Operations Support and Logistics team. A national of Kenya, he holds a master’s degree in Defence Logistics Management, from Cranfield University in the UK. Prior to joining WHO last year, Paul was the Supply and Logistics Chief in the UNICEF Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa. His professional experience also includes other assignments within the UNICEF Supply Division, first within the emergency department, and subsequently with the Change Management Unit, as project lead to transform the global supply function. Paul has extensive experience in managing emergency supply and logistics operations around the world, starting on the Kenya-Somalia border in 1993. Between 1993 and 1999, he performed multiple logistics roles with UNHCR and CARE International.

Gerard Rebello

Head of Health Supply Chain Strengthening, World Food Programme

Mr. Gerard Rebello is heading the Health Supply Chain Strengthening team at WFP, acting as an enabler of supply chain solutions and supporting health actors with supply chain capacity strengthening and pandemic preparedness tools and processes. With over 20 years of experience in the supply chain industry, including over 15 years in the humanitarian sector, Gerard has worked in a range of humanitarian settings and has been involved in multiple emergencies, serving as Deputy Head of Logistics in Ethiopia, Head of Logistics in Afghanistan and Head of Supply Chain in Nigeria. His expertise spans from Supply Chain Management, Transport, Warehousing, Information Management and National Capacity strengthening. Prior to working for WFP, Gerard graduated from Cranfield University and worked in international private companies such as DHL and Maersk.

Kate Warren

Executive Vice President, Devex

Kate Warren brings two decades of global development and digital media experience to cover and shape the important conversations driving the Sustainable Development Goals. In her role as EVP and Executive Editor, Kate leads Devex’s special coverage including news events, Devex Pro, and other editorial initiatives tied to key moments on the global development calendar. Kate is a frequent speaker and author on human capital, talent, leadership, skills development and career trends in the social impact and global development space. As the parent of a transgender child, she is also an active advocate for the rights of transgender youth.