The next General Assembly meeting of the NCD Alliance will be held virtually on Tuesday 6 May 2025. At the General Assembly, Founding and Full members will elect the President-Elect, seven (7) general Board of Directors members and one (1) lived experience Board of Directors for the term 2025-2027. A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document can be found here, which outlines the nominations and shortlisting process, as well as background information on the size of the Board, and the roles and responsibilities of the Board of Directors and President-Elect.
A Provisional Agenda of the 2025 General Assembly is now available, as well as the Minutes of the 2023 General Assembly and an audit of the financial statements as of December 2023.
This page presents the profile of all candidates for President-Elect, General and Lived Experience Board to inform NCDA members for the election process. The information contained in each of the candidates’ profile has been provided by the candidates themselves, and it is intended exclusively for NCDA members. Candidates were required to answer the same questions and adhere to the same maximum word count. Their responses were not edited.
A few important points to note:
- The NCD Alliance Board is composed of 14 seats, including the President and President-Elect. At the 2025 General Assembly meeting, our members will elect 1 President-Elect, along with 7 general board members and 1 lived experience board member.
-
This does not include the four permanent seats of the Founding Members (WHF, UICC, IDF and The Union), which are appointed by the Founding members themselves, rather than elected by members. The appointed Founding Member representatives for the term 2025-2027 are provided below, so that members can consider these within the context of your decisions on voting for the other Board candidates:
- Union for International Cancer Control - Cristiana Fonseca, UICC Board Member and Head of Capacity Building, Portuguese League Against Cancer, Portugal.
- The International Union Against TB and Lung Disease - Cassandra Kelly-Cirino, Executive Director, The International Union Against TB and Lung Disease, Switzerland.
- International Diabetes Federation - Jackie Maalouf, IDF Vice-President and Founder and President of DiaLeb, Lebanon.
- World Heart Federation - Fausto Pinto, WHF Past President and Professor of Cardiology, Portugal.
- The NCD Alliance Nominations Committee met to review the nominations and developed a strong and representative slate of candidates to put forward to our members at the General Assembly. The Committee took into consideration the criteria set out in the Nominations Policy for the 3 categories, alongside consideration for a balance of geographies, gender, skills and backgrounds. In addition, the Committee also considered the need to balance continuity and renewal of the Board of Directors.
- There are 2 candidates shortlisted for President-Elect, 14 candidates shortlisted for General Board Member and 3 candidates for lived experience Board Members. Please note that as of April 24, 2025, one candidate for lived experience board member has withdrawn from the nomination process for personal reasons.
Download the Candidate Booklet
List of candidates for 2025‑2027 NCDA President‑Elect and Board
Section 1: Candidates for NCDA President-Elect
(alphabetical order by surname)
Saunthari Somasundaram
President and Medical Director, National Cancer Society Malaysia and Co-Chairperson, NCD Malaysia (NCDM)
Malaysia
Section 2: Candidates for NCDA Board of Directors
(alphabetical order by surname)
Jennifer Bae
Executive Director of Global Innovation, American College of Cardiology
United States of America
Beatriz Champagne
Executive Director, Coalición Latinoamérica Saludable / Healthy Latin America Coalition (CLAS))
Argentina
Ratna Devi
CEO, Board Member and Trustee, Dakshama Health and Education and Founding Board Member, Healthy India Alliance (HIA)
India
Joseph Mucumbitsi
SChair, Rwanda NCD Alliance and President, East Africa NCD Alliance (EANCDA)
Rwanda
Verónica Schoj
Vice President, Food and Nutritional Programs, Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI)
Argentina
Pubudu Amarajith Sumanasekara
Consultant, Sri Lanka Alcohol and Drug Information Centre (ADIC)
Sri Lanka
Section 3: Candidates for lived experience Board Member
(Alphabetical order by surname)
Emily Ong
Board Member, Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI)
Singapore
Please note that, due to personal reasons, Emily has withdrawn from the board nomination process.
View candidate
Mohammed Seyam
Post Graduate Candidate UCL, Eastern Mediterranean NCD Alliance (EM-NCDA)
State of Palestine