Join in the discussion about Global Health Equity in the time of COVID-19 vaccination with experts in the global health community.
Featured Panelists
Wanda McClain, MPA
Vice President, Community Health and Health Equity, Brigham Health
Biography
Wanda McClain, MPA
Vice President, Community Health and Health Equity, Brigham Health
Wanda McClain is Vice President of Community Health and Health Equity at Brigham Health. She is the senior leader overseeing the Center for Community Health and Health Equity at the Brigham, its two licensed community health centers and its relationships with the nine affiliated health centers in Boston, helping to ensure the Brigham fulfills its strategic commitments to health equity and high-quality patient and family-centered care.
Ms. McClain collaborates with organizations in the community and departments at BWH to further advance care, research and community programs that elevate the health status and health outcomes of the diverse populations in Boston. She has led her team to successfully implement programs to support victims of violence, improve birth outcomes, increase rates of colorectal cancer screening, provide educational and career opportunities for young people and ensure access to comprehensive primary care. Ms. McClain joined the Brigham in 2002 as the Administrative Director of the President’s Office, supporting various BWH strategic initiatives in addition to supporting efforts focused on disparities in health outcomes and workforce development priorities.
Prior to joining the Brigham she was the Director of Community Partnerships at Mass General Brigham. In addition to her tenure in health care, she has experience in community development and in the financial services industry.
John Nkengasong, MSc, PhD
Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
Biography
Dr John N. Nkengasong, MSc, PhD
Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
Dr John Nkengasong currently serves as Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, a specialized technical institution of the African Union. Earlier this year, he was appointed as one of the WHO Director-General’s Special Envoys on COVID-19 Preparedness and Response, and most recently was awarded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s 2020 Global Goalkeeper Award for his contributions to the continental response in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa.
Dr Nkengasong is an authority on implementing HIV therapy in resource-challenged areas and a prolific author on the topics of HIV diagnosis, pathogenesis, and drug resistance. Prior to his current position, he served as Acting Deputy Principal Director of the Center for Global Health and Chief of the International Laboratory Branch, Division of Global HIV and TB for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Dr Nkengasong holds a Masters in Tropical Biomedical Science from the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium, and a Doctorate in Medical Sciences (Virology) from the University of Brussels, Belgium.
Dr Nkengasong has received numerous awards for his work including Sheppard Award, the William Watson Medal of Excellence, the highest recognition awarded by the US CDC. He is also recipient of the Knight of Honour Medal by the Government of Cote d’Ivoire, was knighted in 2017 as the Officer of Loin by the President of Senegal, H.E. Macky Sall, and Knighted in November 2018 by the government of Cameroon for his significant contributions to public health. He is an adjunct professor at the Emory School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA.
He serves on several international advisory boards including the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Initiative – CEPI, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) among others. He has authored over 250 peer-review articles in international journals and published several book chapters.
Vanessa Kerry, MD, MSC
Co-founder and CEO of Seed Global Health
Biography
Vanessa Kerry, MD, MSC
Co-founder and CEO of Seed Global Health
Dr. Kerry is the Associate Director of Partnerships and Global Initiatives at MGH Global Health. She helps to oversee clinical and education opportunities in global health and partnerships for MGH Global Health. She is also co-founder and the CEO of Seed Global Health. Having worked in resource‐limited settings for over a decade, Dr. Kerry has witnessed health inequities around many places in the world and how shortages of local health providers in their home countries contribute to those inequities. She believes that there should not – and need not – be two standards of care around the globe. She envisions a solution where investing in health systems and health professional leadership can provide a sustainable, local solution to close disparities in care and health outcomes. Her work at Seed Global Health and in partnership with MGH is helping to close training and care gaps in sub-Saharan Africa through education. The Seed program sends American health professionals to help train the next generation of doctors, nurses and midwives in countries with critical health needs. These health professionals then teach others, creating a pipeline of needed, skilled providers and educators. Seed has helped train over 14,000 health professionals since its inception in 2012. Dr. Kerry also runs the Discovery Health MGH Fellowship which hosts South African academic clinician leaders to train at MGH for one year.
Moderator
Louise Ivers, MD, MPH
Executive Director, MGH Global Health