COP28 Event: Scaling Climate and Health Action: Learning from Country Experiences

Juan Pablo Uribe is the Global Director for Health, Nutrition and Population at the World Bank and Director of the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents (GFF). Previously, from 2018 to 2019, Dr. Uribe served as Minister of Health and Social Protection of Colombia. Between 2009 and 2011, he was the World Bank's Health Sector Manager for East Asia and the Pacific. In his vast career, first as a medical doctor specialized in public health and public administration, and later in both public and private leading health sector organizations, Mr. Uribe has contributed significantly to public health policies, health care delivery and health systems development.  

Dr. Maria P. Neira is the Director of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health at the World Health Organization. Prior to that she served as Under-Secretary of Health and President of the Spanish Food Safety Agency. Dr Neira began her career as a medical coordinator working for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). She then spent several years working in different African countries during armed conflicts. Dr Neira is a Medical Doctor by training, specialized in Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases in Paris, France, Master of Public Health and a University Diploma in Human Nutrition, Epidemic Preparedness and Crisis Management. Among many distinctions, she has been awarded the Médaille de “L'Ordre National du Mérite” by the Government of France and received an “Extraordinary Woman” award by HM Queen Letizia of Spain. In early 2019, she was nominated among the top 100 policy influencers in health and climate change

Dr. Austin Demby is currently the Minister of Health for the Government of Sierra Leone. Before assuming his current role, Dr. Demby served as the Acting Director of the Office of Global Health at the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Dr. Demby began his public health career in 1980 as a research scientist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He then went on to become country director of the CDC field station in Sierra Leone (1987-1989) where he studied Lassa fever and other viral hemorrhagic fevers. Following his work in biological research, Dr. Demby became a founding member of CDC’s Global AIDS Program (GAP). Between 1999 and 2006, he led several teams that established GAP program offices in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Between 2006 and 2011, Dr. Demby served as the Director of the CDC Malawi program, overseeing the HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care activities of CDC, and facilitating other major programs funded through two U.S. health agencies, HRSA and NIH, in Malawi. Between 2011 and 2016, Dr. Demby served as the Director and Deputy Principal for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  In 2014-2015, Dr. Demby played a key leadership role in the U.S. Government’s response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Dr. Demby holds a doctorate in Clinical Microbiology from the University of London, England, a master’s degree in public health-epidemiology/biostatistics from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. 

Prof. Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar is the Minister of Health and Population, and the former Minister of Higher Education & Scientific Research, Egypt. He is a Professor of Oral Medicine, Oral Diagnosis, Oral Radiology and Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, Ain-Shams University. He held many positions prior to his current posting; he was Vice President for Postgraduates and Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry at Ain-Shams University. He has received numerous recognitions including the IADR Award for Best Research (Seattle, Washington, USA) and the 1994 Unilever Travel Award IADR Best Research (USA, 1994). He ranked second for best research at the Euro-Perio (Paris, France, 1994) and ranked 1st for best research at Ain-Shams University, 1999. In addition to receiving the Distinguished National Medical Award (the National Academy for Scientific Research, 2001) and the Academic Associate Fellow (the American Academy of Implant Dentistry, October 2015), Prof. Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar has also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Hiroshima in Japan for his significant contribution to the fields of Higher Education and Scientific Research. Notably, Prof. Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar has also received an honorary fellowship from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow in 2019.

Pam was appointed Executive Vice-President, Operations & Information Technology in June 2015 and assumed additional responsibility for the AstraZeneca sustainability strategy and function in January 2023. Pam joined AstraZeneca after having spent 18 years with Merck/MSD in Global Manufacturing and Supply Chain and Commercial roles. Pam was the Head of Global Supply Chain Management & Logistics for Merck and led the transformation of Merck supply chains across the global supply network. Pam also held the role of President of MSD China, responsible for MSD’s entire business in China. Prior to joining Merck, Pam held various engineering and project management positions at Universal Oil Products, Union Carbide Corporation and GAF Chemicals. Pam holds both a bachelor's and master's degree in chemical engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey and an MBA in marketing from Pace University in New York. In addition to her role at AstraZeneca, Pam serves as a Non-Executive Director of the Smiths Group plc Board and as a Trustee Member of the Board for Stevens Institute of Technology. Pam also serves as an Advisor to the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) Board of Directors.

Desta Lakew leads global partnerships for Africa. In this role, she has been engaged in securing high level strategic global partnerships for Amref Health Africa. Desta has served on the Executive and Senior Management teams of Amref since 2014. Desta leads thought leadership and external engagements at the corporate headquarters of Amref working closely with global partners and the senior leadership team of Amref Health Africa. She was instrumental in the establishment and leadership of the first bi-annual Africa Health Agenda International Conference in 2014; leading a global south dialogue knowledge exchange platform on Universal Health Coverage in Africa and Asia; and the launching various campaigns including Communities at the Heart of UHC global advocacy campaign.

David was appointed Director, Global Health at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in November 2022. He is also a Fellow at the University of Cambridge and at the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to his current role David served as Director, Covid-19 Programme at the Department of Health and Social Care and, before that, as Deputy Director General Political in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). David has over 20 years’ experience of foreign affairs and diplomacy. His other previous FCO roles include: Deputy Director Europe, Deputy Director Asia-Pacific, Deputy Human Resources Director, First Secretary (Political) at the UK Mission to the United Nations in New York, Private Secretary, and Press Spokesperson. David has also served as Counsellor (Foreign and Development Policy) at the European Union Delegation to the United States in Washington DC, and worked in 10 Downing Street, the Home Office and the European Parliament in Brussels. Outside of government David has been a Fellow at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC, a Senior Visiting Fellow at the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research in New York, and a Visiting Assistant Professor at NYU. He has also worked for S&P Global in New York. David holds an M.Sc. (Distinction) in Political Science from the London School of Economics. He has been a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University in New York and holds qualifications from Harvard University and Stanford University. He has been featured in numerous US and UK publications, including The Financial Times, Politico, The Independent and The Hill.