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| Home > ASAP > Executive Committee and Support Team Members |
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Executive Committee and Support Team of ASAP
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Zahid Hussein has been involved in the social development sector for the past 20 years. His involvement has seen active engagement in design, execution, monitoring and evaluation of projects in reproductive health and family planning, nutrition, population, child survival, governance, women's and children's rights.
Mr Hussein's association with HIV/AIDS started in 1992 when he was part of the team that initiated the pioneering work of HIV/AIDS communication in Pakistan in 1992. Since then, he has researched, written and spoken extensively at national and international forums on various aspects of HIV/AIDS. He has been a member of the ASAP Executive Committee for almost two years and is deeply committed to seeing ASAP as a central body promoting devolution of policy advocacy, dialogue and activities in the Asia Pacific region.
Mr Hussein currently heads Sustainable Resource Foundation (SuRF), Islamabad, Pakistan has three Masters degrees English, Political Science, Mass Communication and training in Film-making from Punjab and Stanford universities. His other passionate interests include: zero-tolerance for gender-based violence against women and trafficking of women and children. He is very much involved in activities relating to these issues in Pakistan. His other interests are promotion of diversity of faith, ethnic and linguistic differences and national origin.
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Assoc. Professor Sukhontha Kongsin |
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Sukhontha Kongsin, PhD, is Associate Professor in health economics, Faculty of Public Health, at Thailand’s Mahidol University. She is the founding head of the Research Centre of Health Economics and Evaluation, in that role she also oversees the Master of Science (Hospital Management) and the Doctor of Public Health (Public Health Administration), offered jointly with the EU-Health Care Reform Project under National Health Security Office. Her major concentrations are cost and cost-effectiveness analysis in health, economic evaluation of managed care and health financing.
Sukhontha is a member of ASAP consortium: AIDS Strategy and Action Plan (ASAP) Service Support for Improved Strategic and Annual Action Planning for HIV/AIDS and its regional representative of ASAP, member of Technical Reference Group of the National Plan for Strategic and Integrated HIV and AIDS Prevention and Alleviation (2007-2011), member of the Editorial Boards of JIAS and former IAS Governing Council member for Asia and the Pacific Islands (2004-2008).
Sukhontha has extensive experience conducting research and analysing the consequences of Thailand’s AIDS epidemic. She also has broad international experience in collaborative research and exchanges with various United Nations agencies and the European Union. Her research expertise includes demand-side incentives and financing of Thailand’s public sector HIV/AIDS services, with a specific focus on patient access and utilisation of services. She has worked on projects focusing on evaluation and optimisation of health- and health-system related strategies and interventions with the Thai Ministry of Public Health and has co-ordinated numerous regional development issues related to disease burden and health economics in Asia. She received a Young Investigator Award from the IAS at the XI International AIDS Conference in Vancouver, Canada in 1996 and was awarded the Franz Redeker Prize at the 29th World Conference of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD) in November 1998.
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Myung-Hwan Cho is a professor at the Department of Biology at Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea. His Master in Public Administration and Management degree at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University will complement BS and MS degrees from Konkuk University and a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Arizona where he worked on an opportunistic infection Cryptosporidiosis of AIDS.
He was a visiting scholar at the Center for AIDS Research at Stanford University where he worked with Nobel Laureate Baruch Blumberg and Prof. Thomas Merigan on HIV drug resistance to combination therapy. He has been recognized as "International Scientist of the Year 2006" by International Biographical Centre of Cambridge, England and "Person of the Year 2004 in Public Health" by the Ministry of Health, South Korea, and "A Scientist of the Year 1998" by Seoul Daily.
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SHIV KHARE, M.A., an Indian national, is the Executive Director of the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) since 1993 and during this time he was the main organizer of the UNFPA sponsored four international parliamentarians conference on population and development in Cairo, Copenhagen, Geneva, Tokyo and Bangkok.
He has also been responsible for the development of AFPPD in last 14 years and during this time adopted many innovative approach such as concept of National Parliamentarians Committee in the parliaments, person to person advocacy, Afro-Asian parliamentarians cooperation.
Prior to this he was the Secretary General of World Assembly of Youth (WAY) in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he worked with youth and youth councils around the world.
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Dr.N.M.Samuel,Professor,former head of the division of the Department of the experimental
medicine and AIDS research center of the TN DR.MGR Medical university in Chennai,India.It is the first department in any university in India to focus on the HIV/AIDS diagnostics and research. He is a graduate of the Madras Christian College, Tambaram and Christian medical college, Vellore.
He undertook further studies at the London School of Hygiene and tropical medicine and obtained a PhD degree from the London University while he was a research fellow at the Middlesex hospital medical school in London. He along with his wife, a dermatologist has worked in Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Kenya and Uganda.
He has published extensively in the field of Leprosy, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
He is currently the president of the C.A.R.E. foundation in India and serves on the NIH Asia DSMB board and advises several organizations both in India and overseas. He is the elected member of the
Executive committee of the ASAP.
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Ms. Chizuko Ikegami is Founder and Executive Director of Place Tokyo, the biggest AIDS NGO in Japan. As a chair person of the Community Liaison Committee for the 10th International Conference on HIV/AIDS in Yokohama 1994, she played a vital role to make the first AIDS Conference in Asia successful. Since 1994 she has conducted several researches on HIV/AIDS covering both prevention and care issues. In 2006 she worked for the Japanese Society for AIDS Research as the first female chair person of the 20th National Conference and she is also the first woman who received the annual award of the Japanese Society for AIDS Research in 2009.
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Roy Chan has been involved in HIV work since the start of the epidemic in Singapore in 1985. The scope of this includes clinical care of infected individuals and organising support and welfare activities for patients and their loved ones. Together with a few other activists, Prof Chan started the Singapore NGO Action for AIDS in 1988, and is currently itspresident.
Prof Chan's professional work is as a dermato-venereologist. He has administrative duties as Director of the National Skin Centre and Head of the National STI Programme in Singapore. He remains active in prevention programmes, research and clinical care of HIV and STI patients.
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Rachael has over 27 years of voluntary work and 18 years of paid employment in the not for profit community based organisation (CBO) sector, covering sexual and reproductive health, social welfare, human rights and disability issues. She started her voluntary work in women’s groups in the early 1980s prior to qualifying as a lawyer in the UK. She then moved into volunteer and paid employment with community groups and became involved in community activism on human rights, racism, disability concerns, feminism and discrimination against sexual minorities.
Working back home in New Zealand since 1995 she has been in senior executive positions in the disability sector, community and volunteer sector, sexual and reproductive health, personal and public health sector, and is now the Executive Director of the NZ AIDS Foundation. She has extensive experience of working with grass roots community groups as well as many years of being both on governance bodies and servicing/reporting to Boards.
She chaired the organizing committee of the successful Pan Pacific conference on HIV and AIDS in Auckland New Zealand in 2005 where 520 delegates enjoyed the first Pacific focused conference of this size. She chairs the National HIV and AIDS Forum, has attended two UNGASS meetings on HIV as a civil society member of the government delegation and recently attended the UNAIDS Programme Co-ordinating Board as an invited guest of NZAID. She has been nominated onto the Executive Committee of AIDS Societies of Asia Pacific (ASAP).
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Mr. Shale Ahmed is working for Bandhu Social Welfare Society (an NGO working on improving MSM sexual health) as Executive Director since 1997, of which he is also a founder member. Previously he was Project Coordinator of the Naz Foundation International/Bangladesh (July1996-June1997). During this time Naz Foundation International U.K conducted a survey, which was funded by Ford Foundation to develop a strategic response to the reproductive and sexual health needs of male-to-male sex (MSM) in Dhaka. Besides this, he has done various specialized training on issues related to HIV/AIDS and sexual health and has presented various papers on the same topic. He also participated in various International workshops, meeting including and reviewed papers related HIV/AIDS including many International Conference. Mr. Ahmed is a active member to review, update and finalize the draft HIV/AIDS strategic plan of the Bangladesh Government". Recently he has been awarded International Ashoka Fellowship for his outstanding contribution to working with MSM/MSW and TG sexual health and rights in Bangladesh.
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Ms OC Lin is currently a member of the Committee on AIDS Prevention and Care, Advisory Council on AIDS in Hong Kong SAR. She is also a member of the Committee on Promoting Acceptance of People Living with HIV/AIDS, Advisory Council on AIDS, Hong Kong SAR and the Secretary General of mainland Hong Kong Committee on AIDS. She is also the Secretary of the China AIDS Network PRC. Ms Lin is the main NGO delegate of Asia and the Pacific Program Coordinating Board at UNAIDS and member of the Global Task Force Team on Improving AIDS Coordination Among Multi-Lateral Institutions and International Donors. In addition she is a member of the External Expert Reference Group on 'Improving the effective Involvement of Civil Society Participation with the Global Fund'. She has been a member of the ASAP Executive Committee for a number of years.
Ms Lin is a registered psychiatric nurse and mental nurse. She holds a number of degrees including Master in Administration and BA (Hons) in Public Policy and Management.
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Andrew has been active in the field of HIV/AIDS since 2002 when he joined the Kuala Lumpur AIDS Support Services Society (KLASS), a grassroots Community Based Organisation (CBO) in Malaysia. Starting as a volunteer member, Andrew increased his involvement which saw him holding the positions of Honorary Secretary and Vice President of KLASS. Over the years, Andrew has witnessed the benefits of Advocacy and GIPA Principles on Treatment Access and Community Empowerment issues.
Currently, in his second term as an Executive Committee Member of the Malaysian AIDS Council, Andrew’s main focus areas are on the establishment and development of support groups for People Living with HIV (PLHIV) across the country; and scaling up services for marginalized communities (especially Men who have Sex with Men [MSM], Transgender and Sex Workers). As one of the Key Coordinators providing support to newly diagnosed patients, Andrew and his team conduct Support Group Meetings serving clients, of which 60% are MSM. Apart from the general Support Group, Andrew initiated a MSM Support Group in 2006 which has encouraged many Positive youth in Peer Education, Counseling and Emotional Support. Andrew continues to provide Face-to-Face counseling, Hospital/Home visits; and Sexual Reproductive Health Talks for secondary, college and university students.
In 2007, Andrew became a member of the APN+ MSM Working Group. He is the APN+ Representative (MSM PLHIV Community) and the Vice Chair on the Interim Governing Board of the Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health (APCOM).
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Mr Steve Kraus |
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Steve Kraus joined UNAIDS as Director, Regional Support Team for Asia and the Pacific, in April 2010. Mr. Kraus brings to this position over 30 years of experience in international development, humanitarian assistance programmes, sexual and reproductive health and HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.
Most recently, Mr. Kraus has served as UNAIDS Global Coordinator and Chief of the HIV/AIDS Branch of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) at New York, where he strengthened linkages between sexual and reproductive health and HIV. Mr. Kraus led UNFPA’s efforts on HIV prevention and also served in WHO’s Global Programme on AIDS in Africa and Asia, with UNAIDS as Country Coordinator in Vietnam. With vast field experience in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, Mr. Kraus was a key player in the establishment of UNAIDS; a Founding Member of the Asia Business Coalition on AIDS; initiated multi-agency programmes to combat the trafficking of women and children; and establishing national partnership forums on AIDS.
Prior to joining the United Nations, Mr. Kraus served in his country’s diplomatic service, including five years in refugee, population and migration affairs, and five years with Catholic Relief Services. He has post-graduate work in Tropical Medicine and a Master of Science from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, a Master of Public Health and Master of Social Work from the University of Minnesota, and under-graduate degrees in History and Philosophy from Saint Mary’s University.
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Professor Aikichi Iwamoto |
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Aikichi Iwamoto, MD, DMSc, is a professor of the Institute of Medical Science, the University of Tokyo (IMSUT). He heads the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Advanced Clinical Research Center of IMSUT. His major interest lies in virological and immunological aspects of HIV pathogenicity and drug resistance. For over 13 years he has been in charge of patient care twice weekly at the HIV outpatient clinic of IMSUT's Research Hospital. He served as the hospital director from 2003 to 2006.
Professor Iwamoto chairs the National HIV Surveillance Committee of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan since 2005. He served as the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Japanese Society for AIDS Research from 2005 to 2006.
Internationally, he is a member of the editorial advisory board of the Journal of Infectious Diseases (JID), a core faculty member of the IAS-USA and an advisory board member of Friends of the Global Fund, Japan (FGFJ). Since 2005, he has directed a cooperative project between the Chinese Academy of Sciences and IMSUT establishing Japan-China joint laboratories in Beijing for emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. He is now a visiting professor of Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Since 2006, he is a Governing Council member from Asia and the Pacific Islands in the International AIDS Society.
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Mr Prasada Rao |
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Mr JVR Prasada Rao has been the Director of the Regional Support Team, Asia and Pacific, UNAIDS in Bangkok since December 2004. Accordingly, he leads the response by UNAIDS in the region to support and strengthen the response at the country level.
Mr. Rao, a nuclear physicist by training, has a long-standing career of 37 years in the Indian Administrative Service. Before joining UNAIDS, he has served as the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for the Government of India after successfully leading the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) of Government of India for five years as the Project Director.
Earlier, he has held several senior positions in district administration in different states of India including State Departments of Health and Labour. His global work on health includes advising WHO on Tobacco control, serving as member of the PCB UNAIDS, management board of Global Fund on AIDS, TB and Malaria and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation among others.
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Ms May Supattara Pisetpattanakul |
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Khun May is currently undertaking her Masters of Business Administration. She has undergraduate degrees in fine arts and management.
Khun May has a number of years experience working in the field of HIV and AIDS, most recently for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. While she worked for the Red Cross, she assisted with various programs related to the Tsunami Recovery Program for Thailand. The focus of her work concerned disaster preparedness and health-related issues with an emphasis on HIV, blood transfusion and water sanitation matters. She was also assigned to assist in administrative and logistical aspects of the work.
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Ms Wena Cho |
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Wena Cho has a Bachelors degree from the University of California, Davis (UCD), specializing in Microbiology. She has gained a thorough knowledge from her 7 years of study in United States with various research and medical internship experiences that includes research assistant job at Harvard Medical School. Recently she has been assigned as financial administrative officer in Seoul, Korea and also an assistant to President of ASAP.
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