The next General Assembly meeting of the NCD Alliance will be held virtually on 17th May 2023. At the General Assembly, Founding and Full members will elect the President‑Elect and 8 members of the Board for the term 2023‑2025. 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.
This page presents the profile of all candidates for President-Elect and 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.
A few important points to note:
- The NCDA Board is composed of 14 seats, including the President and President‑Elect. At the 2023 General Assembly meeting, there are 8 Board seats up for election. This does not include the four permanent seats of the Founding members (WHF, UICC, IDF and The Union), which are not up for election and are appointed by the Founding members themselves. The names of the appointed representatives of the Founding Members for the term 2023‑2025 and biographies are provided in section 3 for information, so that members can consider these within the context of your decisions on voting for the other Board candidates.
- The Nominations Committee reviewed all nominations from members for President‑Elect and Board of Directors, and have shortlisted a slate of candidates outlined in section 1 and 2 taking into consideration the criteria set out in the Nominations Policy, while also ensuring a balance of geographies, gender, and skills and expertise. In addition, the Committee also considered the need to balance continuity and renewal of Board of Directors. We received exceptional nominations, and it was a difficult task for the Committee as the quality and profile of nominees was outstanding.
- There are 2 candidates shortlisted for President‑Elect and 13 candidates shortlisted for Board of Directors. Please note, both President‑Elect candidates are also shortlisted as Board of Director candidates. During the General Assembly, the vote for President‑Elect will be conducted first. This means that the candidate who is not elected President‑Elect is still eligible to be on the Board of Directors if they have received enough votes.
List of candidates for 2023‑2025 NCDA President‑Elect and Board
Section 1: Candidates for NCDA President-Elect
(alphabetical order by surname)
Leslie Rae Ferat
Executive Director, Global Alliance for Tobacco Control (GATC, formerly Framework Convention Alliance)
NCD Alliance Board Member 2021‑2023
Canada
Kaushik L Ramaiya
Honorable Secretary and CEO, Tanzania NCD Alliance (TANCDA)
NCD Alliance Board Member 2021‑2023
Tanzania
Section 2: Candidates for NCDA Board of Directors
(alphabetical order by surname)
Sawsan A.S. Al Madhi
Advocacy Advisor, Eastern Mediterranean NCD Alliance; CEO and Founder, AlignnEficient Heath Consultancies CO LLC
United Arab Emirates
Batool Al-wahdani
Board Member, International Youth Health Organization; Speciality Training Doctor in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, NHS England
Jordan
Jennifer Bae
Executive Director of Global Innovation, American College of Cardiology
United States of America
Beatriz Champagne
Executive Director, Coalition for Americas' Health/Coalición Latinoamérica Saludable (CLAS)
Argentina
Ishu Kataria
Senior Public Health Researcher, Center for Global NCDs, RTI International
India
Pamela Naidoo
CEO/Extraordinary Professor, Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa
South AFrica
Eva Njenga
Founder Director, NCD Alliance Kenya (NCDAK); Consultant Physician/Endocrinologist, DIAMED Centre, Kenya Diabetes Study Group
NCD Alliance Board Member 2021-2023
Kenya
Bo Norrving
Senior Professor in Neurology, Lund University and Past President and Past-President, World Stroke Organization (WSO)
NCD Alliance Board Member 2021‑2023
Sweden
Leslie Rae Ferat
Executive Director, Global Alliance for Tobacco Control (GATC, formerly Framework Convention Alliance)
NCD Alliance Board Member 2021‑2023
Canada
Kaushik L Ramaiya
Honorable Secretary and CEO, Tanzania NCD Alliance (TANCDA)
NCD Alliance Board Member 2021‑2023
Tanzania
Pubudu Amarajith Sumanasekara
Executive Director and President, NCD Alliance Lanka, Sri Lanka; Consultant for RESET Alcohol Initiative, Vital Strategies
Sri Lanka
Laura Tucker-Longsworth
Board Member, Healthy Caribbean Coalition; President, Belize Cancer Society
Belize
Section 3: Appointed representatives of Founding Federations
(not up for election, for information; alphabetical order by surname)
International Diabetes Federation
Peter Schwarz
IDF President-Elect and Head of the Division of Prevention and Care of Diabetes at Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus
Germany
Biography
Professor Peter Schwarz studied medicine in Germany and the United States. He is currently Professor of Internal Medicine, Prevention and Care of Diabetes at the Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus at the Technical University of Dresden. His research interests include the prevention of diabetes, genetic and clinical studies in diabetes mellitus and the deployment of digital technologies to improve care. He is coordinator of the evaluation of diabetes digital therapeutics in Germany. Professor Schwarz has lead and supported initiatives to develop national diabetes prevention strategies and programmes to improve diabetes care across different geographies, and has participated in multiple global diabetes research projects and diabetes training initiatives.
Peter is widely published, with more than 135 publications as a senior author and has been invited to speak more than 350 times at internationally established conferences. Beyond his research activities, Peter has an interest in business management and holds an MBA for international business. He enjoys translating evidence-based science into clinical and prevention practice and evaluating its success. Professor Schwarz is currently serving as President-elect of the International Diabetes Federation.
The International Union Against TB and Lung Disease
Guy Marks
The Union President and Executive Director
NCD Alliance Board Member 2021‑2023
Australia
Biography
Prof Guy Marks is an honorary Professor of Medicine, University of New South Wales (Australia). He is a world-leading respiratory physician and epidemiologist, whose outstanding contributions to the fields of asthma, chronic lung disease, tuberculosis (TB) and air pollution have transformed the national and global responses to these health problems. His sustained research has been recognised by major awards from the NHMRC, the Thoracic Society, the Ingham Institute and UNSW Sydney. He leads a TB research programme with Vietnams National TB Programme.
Prof Marks first became involved with The Union at a Union World Conference in the early nineties. One of his major contributions to the organisation has been in his role as Editor in Chief (Lung Diseases) of the IJTLD since 2012. He is also a former Chair of the Lung Health Scientific. He was appointed as President of The Union in 2019.
Union for International Cancer Control
Saunthari Somasundaram
Chairperson, NCD Alliance Malaysia and President, National Cancer Society Malaysia (Malaysia)
NCD Alliance Board Member 2021‑2023
Malaysia
Biography
With over 20 years’ experience in cancer control, Dr Saunthari Somasundaram advocates for the awareness, prevention, early detection and survivorship of cancer. Within Malaysia, these initiatives are driven through the National Cancer Society of Malaysia (NCSM) - the nation’s very first cancer NGO; in its education, care and support programmes. NCSM was acknowledged for its continuous work during the COVID‑19 pandemic with the Overall Outstanding Vaccination Contribution by Healthcare Non-Governmental Organisation (Malaysia) Award for its support of PLWNCDs.
Dr Saunthari’s work in local and international Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) control has enhanced global solutions and local sustainable initiatives. She has also implemented strategies on the collaborative potential of NCD control, apart from advocating change from singular entities, through her advisory capacity for the Malaysian Ministry of Health and uniting the voices of Civil Society Organisation’s (CSO) in health and non-health sectors. Internationally, Dr Saunthari was a Board Member of UICC from 2014-2020, and committee member for McCabe Law Centre lending her voice regionally and internationally to the cancer control agenda.
Locally, Dr Saunthari started championing the NCD agenda in 2010, establishing the NCD Alliance Malaysia in 2018. She is a founding member and on the Board of the Malaysian Women’s Action Tobacco Control and Health (MyWatch), working towards the adoption of the Generational Endgame (GEG) Tobacco Bill by Parliament. She is a principal member of the City Cancer Challenge, Greater Petaling. She is also strong patient advocate; working with cancer patients, empowering and providing medical counselling for better health and treatment journeys.
The accumulation of clinical, educational, operational and counselling skills, paired with vast experience has provided her a comprehensive picture of the benefits, challenges, needs and gaps of non-communicable diseases (NCD) and cancer control in ASEAN.
In recognition of her work in cancer and NCDs, in November 2020, she was conferred the Darjah Datuk Paduka Mahkota Perak award, carrying the title Dato' by His Royal Highness The Sultan of Perak.
World Heart Federation
Liesl Zühlke
WHF Board Member and Vice President, South African Medical Research Council
NCD Alliance Board Member 2021‑2023
South Africa
Biography
Professor Liesl Zühlke is the Vice-President of the South African Medical Research Council - Extramural Research and Internal portfolio (ER‑IP), a paediatric cardiologist in the Division of Paediatric Cardiology at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital and director the Children’s Heart Disease Research Unit focused on family-centred research into Children’s Heart Diseases of relevance in Africa.
Her research projects span Congenital and Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD), HIV in adolescents, Grown-up Congenital Heart Disease and cardiac disease in women of childbearing age. She is B2 NRF rated researcher (2023‑2027). In addition to her medical degrees, Liesl holds an MPH in clinical research methods and PhD both from the University of Cape Town as well as an MSc in Health Economics, Outcomes and Management of Cardiovascular Sciences from the London School of Economics.
Prof Zühlke is a past-president of the South African Heart Association, past-president of the Paediatric Cardiac Society of South Africa, and outgoing chair and co-chair of the PASCAR PANPACH (Paediatric and Congenital Cardiology) and RHD Task Forces respectively. Internationally she serves as President of Reach (Rheumatic Heart Disease, Evidence, Advocacy, Communication and Hope), is a board member of the World Heart Federation, a medical advisory committee member of Children's Heart Link, an international advisory committee member of Global ARCH as well as an executive member of SAVAC, the global Strep A vaccine consortium.