HIFA2015 Steering Group

Ibrahima Bob works for the British Embassy in Senegal as Aid & UK Trade and Investment Officer. He has a solid experience in ICT project management as regional co-ordinator for the Open Knowledge Network (OKN) an international programme from the DOTForce process and specialises in communication for development. He is the immediate past president of AHILA (Association for Health Information and Libraries in Africa). bobibrahim AT yahoo.com

Tom Barker is Acting Manager of the IDS Health & Development Information Team, at the Institute of Development Studies, Brighton, UK.  The HDI team provides high-quality, accessible information to support informed decision-making by policymakers and practitioners working in health and development. Activities include managing the knowledge and information services of the DFID Health Resource Centre, producing id21 Health and the Health, Health Systems, and HIV and AIDS Resource Guides on Eldis, and collaborating with other organisations on information and communications activities. T.Barker AT ids.ac.uk

Kate Brincklow is Manager of the IDS Health & Development Information Team, at the Institute of Development Studies, Brighton, UK.  The HDI team provides high-quality, accessible information to support informed decision-making by policymakers and practitioners working in health and development. Activities include managing the knowledge and information services of the DFID Health Resource Centre, producing id21 Health and the Health, Health Systems, and HIV and AIDS Resource Guides on Eldis, and collaborating with other organisations on information and communications activities.  K.Brincklow AT ids.ac.uk

Frederick Bukachi is a cardiovascular physician with a strong interest in health informatics. He previously worked as HealthNet co-ordinator and regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa. He has also served as a consultant, board member and advisor to several international
organizations working to improve access to health information in Africa. He has written and spoken extensively on the subject of using information and communications technologies to access health information in Africa. fred.bukachi AT ghi-net.org

David Chandler is General Manager of TALC. He has worked with and for other health charities including the National Eczema Society, Psoriatic Arthropathy Alliance, Skin Care Campaign, and the British League Against Rheumatism on patient information development. This work has included public awareness campaigns and government lobbying, particularly relating to rationing of medical care within the NHS. davidchandler AT btconnect.com

Ed Cooper is a general pediatrician and clinical consultant to the Partnership for Child Development, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, London. He has particular interest/expertise in parasitology and HIV medicine, and a wide interest in development.  edcooper AT doctors.org.uk

Shane Godbolt is Director of Partnerships in Health Information. Phi is a UK-based charity contributing to improved health care in countries with few material resources. By building partnerships between health libraries, Phi supports access to reliable health information. shane.godbolt AT ncgst.nhs.uk

Robert Hughes is a medical student at the University of Bristol, UK. He is also 'Think Global Coordinator' for the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations and coordinates the Medsin-UK Global Health Education Project, both of which aim to promote international health and development learning opportunities amongst healthcare students around the world.  hughes.rob AT gmail.com

Gemma Owens is president of Medsin-UK, a network of healthcare students, with branches at medical schools across the UK. Medsin-UK's activities aim to educate about and act upon health inequalities in our local and global communities. Medsin is the UK member of the International Federation of Medical Students Associations. gemmaowens AT gmail.com

Neil Pakenham-Walsh (Coordinator, HIFA2015) works with the Global Healthcare Information Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to a future where everyone has access to safe, effective healthcare. He has a special interest in the availability and use of relevant, reliable healthcare information in developing countries, especially at primary and district levels. He qualified as a doctor in 1983 and worked for 6 years in NHS hospital medicine, including 2 years in paediatrics. In 1990 he moved into medical publishing and worked with the World Health Organization, the review journal Medicine Digest, and the Wellcome Trust CD-ROM series 'Topics in International Health'. From 1996 to 2004 he developed and managed the INASP-Health programme (International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications) and the eForum, HIF-net (Health Information Forum). He has worked as a medical officer in rural Ecuador and Peru, and in 2005 he worked alongside rural healthcare providers in Tamil Nadu, India to assess local priorities in access and use of health information.  neil.pakenham-walsh AT ghi-net.org

Jonathan Parker is an independent publishing consultant with special expertise in marketing, including considerable experience in developing countries. He established and developed the Elsevier international student edition programme, and has an increasing interest in health information issues in developing countries. jrp29 AT tiscali.co.uk

Julie Reza is a freelance writer/consultant. She was previously medical writer and project manager at the Wellcome Trust, London, UK, where she worked on projects on African trypanosomiasis and trachoma. She previously worked as a researcher in immunology. naimareza AT hotmail.com

Abi Smith is immediate past president of Medsin-UK, a network of healthcare students, with branches at medical schools across the UK. Medsin's activities aim to educate about and act upon health inequalities in the UK and worldwide. president AT medsin.org

Rachel Stancliffe has a background in demography and public health.  She works at Update Software Ltd, a publishing and software company based in Oxford, UK which specialises in assembling, preparing and disseminating information needed to make informed health care decisions. She has extensive experience in development work in many countries, including
Georgia, Kazakhstan, India and Latin America. rstancliffe AT ghi-net.org

HIFA2015 Advisory Panel

Tim Beanland is manager of the Publishing Group - International Health (PG-IH) at the Wellcome Trust, UK. The Wellcome Trust Publishing Group produces Topics in International Health (TIH), a series of CD-ROMs for medical and life sciences students, their teachers and other healthcare professionals. T.Beanland AT Wellcome.ac.uk

Jackie Cheeseborough is Head of Library and Information Services and Team Leader RCN Institute, Royal College of Nursing. Jackie.Cheeseborough AT rcn.org.uk

Patricia A Cholewka is Assistant Professor at the Department of Nursing, New York City College of Technology, City University, New York. She holds a Doctorate in International Education Development from Columbia University, a Master of Public Administration and Policy and a Master of Arts in Informatics from New York University, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Castleton State College. Her doctorate focuses on identifying transcultural issues affecting the sustainability of performance improvement and economic management of healthcare systems of post-soviet, transitional economies. She has resided in the Middle East and Central/Eastern Europe while teaching, consulting, conducting healthcare research, and/or presenting at international healthcare conferences. Her articles on healthcareorganization change strategies, nursing informatics (IT), transcultural considerations in healthcare management education, and the effects of government legislation on healthcare cost and quality have been published in various healthcare journals and policy manuals. She has been awarded a 2007-2008 Fulbright Scholar lecture/research award to Lithuania to study the application of IT to nursing education and clinical practice. She is co-author of a book on health capital and sustainable socioeconomic development to be published in February 2008 by Auerbach Publications, Taylor & Francis Publishing Group. pacholewka AT verizon.net

Catherine Coleman is the Editor in Chief of ProCOR, a global health communication network promoting cardiovascular health in developing countries and other low-resource settings. Globally, cardiovascular disease and related conditions like diabetes and hypertension cause three times as many deaths as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined.  In middle- and lower-income countries, 80% of deaths are due to chronic disease. Eighty percent of these diseases are preventable but health workers often lack information about effective, low-cost prevention strategies. ProCOR promotes exchange of knowledge among a diverse constituency that includes health workers, public health professionals, community planners, advocates, policy makers, and information specialists.  ProCOR is a program of the Lown Cardiovascular Research Foundation in Brookline, Massachusetts USA.  Catherine is also an instructor in health communication and technology at Tufts Medical School in Boston, MA, USA and a visiting international faculty member in global health at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. ccoleman5 AT partners.org

John Eyers is a retired librarian (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine) with an interest in health information in the developing world. He has run information workshops in Africa and India over the last few years and is currently developing a CD-ROM of teaching materials for medical schools in Africa. johneyers AT hotmail.com

Meenakshi Gautham has a PhD in Public Health and Policy from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and is currently an independent public health consultant based in Delhi, India. Her special area of interest is how to better connect, better inform and better support health systems and the health workforce in rural, poor and low resource settings. Meenakshi.Gautham AT lshtm.ac.uk

Maryvonne Grisetti works at the World Health Organization headquarters, Geneva. She is currently in charge of free dissemination of WHO priced publications worldwide but especially aimed at developing countries.   grisettim AT who.int

Yunkap Kwankam is Coordinator of eHealth at the World Health Organization, Geneva. He was formerly Professor and Director at the Center for Health Technology, University of Yaounde, Cameroun. kwankamy AT who.int

Charlotte May is deputy head of the International Department at the British Medical Association, UK. cmay AT bma.org.uk

Mona Nasser is co-ordinator of the Cochrane Developing Countries Network. The CDCN is a network of the Cochrane Collaboration registered in 2006 with the aim of addressing some of the deficits in the contribution and participation from developing countries. Mona is a researcher/lecturer in Systematic Reviews, Educational Development Office, Dental School, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. monanasser1 AT googlemail.com

Caroline Nyamai-Kisia is Director of AfriAfya, based in Nairobi, Kenya. AfriAfya, African Network for Health Knowledge Management and Communication, is a consortium of health NGOs, set up in April 2000, to explore ways of harnessing information and communication technologies (ICTs) for community health and development in rural and marginalized communities. AfriAfya has, in the last six years, implemented program activities that use a combination of satellite technology, radio, video, print, electronic communication, folk and traditional media to improve access to health and development information in rural communities and urban informal settlements in Kenya and Somalia. cnyamai AT afriafya.org

Ayo Onatola is the Librarian at St. Christopher Iba Mar Diop College of Medicine, Luton, England. He holds BSc (Hons) Biochemistry, PGDE, MLS [Ibadan]. He is the former Librarian, Medical Schools/ Teaching Hospitals of Ogun State (now Olabisi Onabanjo) University, Sagamu (1993-99) and Lagos State University, Ikeja (1999-2004), Nigeria. Author of the book "Basics of Librarianship - theory & practice: a guide for beginners", published 2004. His professional interests are in ensuring access to updated Biomedical and Clinical Information in support of excellent medical education, cutting edge research and delivery of effective patient care.He is professionally affiliated to Association for Health Information & Libraries in Africa (AHILA), Nigerian Library Association (NLA); Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals (CILIP), UK; and Biohealthmatics Africa Network (BHAN). He currently serves on the Advisory Panel of HIFA2015 Campaign. ayoonatola AT yahoo.com

Tikki Pang is Coordinator of Research Policy and Cooperation at the World Health Organization, Geneva. pangt AT who.int

John Sandars is a Senior Lecturer in Community Based Education, Medical Education Unit, University of Leeds, UK. He is a medical General Practitioner by background but now has more academic medical education interests in the use of new technologies (blogs/wikis/podcasts) in medical education and also online communities. He is adviser to CHAIN (Contact, Help, Advice and Information Networks) and saferhealthcare and has also been working with BMJ learning and BMJ journals to look at developing the use of new technologies. J.E.Sandars AT leeds.ac.uk

Mark Storey has worked on programs designed to improve access to health information for over 14 years.  Based in Washington DC, USA, he has managed projects at over 160 health organizations in Eurasia and Africa aimed at improving health professionals' capacity to access information. Over the years, he has organized several dozen training seminars designed to enhance health professionals' information retrieval and critical appraisal skills. He is also the creator of the EurasiaHealth Knowledge Network, a Web-based clearinghouse for Russian-language health information and related resources. mstorey AT igc.org

Chris Watts is a researcher at the University of Warwick with an interest in research on communications and networking. He has also worked as an information consultant for a range of health-based organisations.  He has a broad variety of research and teaching experience, particularly in the fields of information management and health informatics. C.Watts AT ljmu.ac.uk