Leadership

AlignMNH is a global initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development. The initiative was founded in 2020 to accelerate progress in improving maternal and newborn health outcomes and prevent stillbirths around the globe. AlignMNH is supported by a Secretariat, managed by Jhpiego, an international NGO focused on transformative health care solutions that save lives. AlignMNH works in partnership with global and country-based organizations, national-level technical working groups, and other MNH-focused initiatives to more rapidly share science, evidence and programmatic experience across the maternal and newborn health communities.

Our Steering Committee

AlignMNH is pleased to announce the 2023-2025 Steering Committee Members. These 19 global thought leaders will guide the strategic direction of AlignMNH and prioritize global MNH issues to advance health outcomes. The Members have direct, practical, and in-depth country experience, and represent countries and communities from Bangladesh to Sierra Leone, from Jordan to Guatemala.

Steering Committee Co-Chairs

Senior Director and Senior Scientist, Maternal and Child Health Division

International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research

Bangladesh

Senior Health Specialist, Maternal and Newborn Technical Lead

Global Financing Facility

United States

Medical Doctor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Kigali (CHUK)

Rwanda

Steering Committee Members

Professor in Midwifery and Women´s Health

University of Chile

Chile

Chief of Health Services, Ministry of Health Malawi

Co-Principal Investigator, NEST360

Malawi

Head of the West Africa Regional Office

African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)

Senegal

Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Bayero University

Founding Director of African Centre of Excellence in Population Health and Policy

Nigeria

Executive Director, Center for Catalyzing Change

National Coordinator, White Ribbon Alliance

India

Senior Adviser and Team Lead, Maternal and Newborn Health

UNICEF

Director of Health, Social Welfare and Nutrition Services

President’s Office – Regional Administration and Local Government

Tanzania

Researcher, School of Public Health

University of the Western Cape

South Africa

Assistant Professor

University of Utah School of Medicine

United States

Program Manager, Quality Management Programme

Directorate of Reproductive and Child Health, Ministry of Health and Sanitation

Sierra Leone

MNH Technical Specialist

UNFPA

United States

Maternal Health Unit Head

WHO

Switzerland

Sexual and Reproductive Health Programme Specialist

UNFPA

Jordan

Acting Head of the Standards Compliance Accreditation and Patient Protection Department

Ministry of Health

Uganda

Director for the Family Health Program

Ministry of Health

Liberia

Medical Doctor

Planned Parenthood Global

Guatemala

Previous Leadership

Learn more about our past AlignMNH Steering Committees.