The Global Health Practitioner Conference (GHPC) is an annual conference being organized by CORE Group, a leader in community health working to end preventable maternal, newborn, and child deaths around the world.
With the theme “Healthy Communities: Sustainable Environments”, GHPC24 will take place in Nairobi, Kenya, from October 28 to 31, 2024. This year’s conference aims to bring together stakeholders to discuss equitable solutions for pressing health needs due to the interface between Communities, Climate, and how Collaboration will improve health, enable quality programs, and advance coherent policies for Primary Health Care and beyond.
Pathfinder’s delegation will be on the ground in Nairobi. Some of our delegates will be speaking at two concurrent breakout sessions on October 29 and 30th. Also check us out at our Expo Table (in the Jambo Foyer) at the conference to learn more about our programs across the globe. Keep scrolling to learn more and meet our delegation. Note: This is an in-person event that will take place at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya
Thank you for your interest in participating in this event. Click below to view and download the GHPC related resources.
SESSION
Population, Health, and Environment: Strengthening the resilience of communities in Tanzania through multisectoral collaboration
Date: Tuesday, October 29, 2024 | Time: 11:00am – 12:30pm EAT | Where: Meeting Plaza 3
Presenter: Felician Luchagula, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Director, Pathfinder Tanzania
This concurrent session topic will show how through our USAID-supported MOMENTUM Integrated Health Resilience (MIHR) project in Tanzania with The Nature Conservancy, the Southern Tanzania Elephant Project, and Government of Tanzania implemented an integrated, multisectoral population, health, and environment (PHE) approach. With project support, community health workers and PHE Champions promote adoption of sustainable household practices and environmental stewardship through the Model Households (HHs) Initiative (MHI).
CONCURRENT SESSION
Integrating Gender, Health, and Environment for Sustainable Development in the Lake Victoria Region, Kenya
Date: Wednesday, October 30, 2024 | Time: 2:00pm-3:30pm | Where: Meeting Plaza 2
Presenter: Sharon Atieno, Program Officer, Pathfinder Kenya
Facilitator: Ruth Ngechu, Advocacy & External Engagement Director, Pathfinder Kenya
Our team will share insights on the growing recognition of the connection between health and climate change as a key aspect of sustainable development. Drawing from the experiences of the Pairing Community Conservation Areas with Sustainable Aquaculture in Lake Victoria project, we will showcase how integrating environmental conservation, gender, and health can effectively address the complex challenges faced by communities around Lake Victoria. Key strategies included restoring and protecting fish breeding areas, promoting sustainable fishing practices, introducing alternative livelihoods to reduce pressure on the lake, advocating for women’s leadership, conducting health outreaches, and empowering.
CONCURRENT SESSION
Building climate resilient health systems and communities in Bangladesh and Pakistan through local leadership and multi-stakeholder collaboration
Date: Wednesday, October 30, 2024 | Time: 2:00pm-3:30pm | Where: Meeting Plaza 2
Presenters: Muhammed Bakhsh Khaskheli, District Cluster Coordinator, Pathfinder Pakistan AND Nabila Chowdhury, SRHR Coordinator, Pathfinder Bangladesh
Facilitator: Ruth Ngechu, Advocacy & External Engagement Director, Pathfinder Kenya
Bangladesh and Pakistan are greatly affected by climate change. Communities face risks to health and well-being due to extreme temperatures, floods, droughts, and cyclones. Health facilities struggle to provide equitable access to quality services during climate-induced disasters. Our team will be sharing Pathfinder’s project implementation experience in both countries to improve community and health system resilience with focus on collaboration and multi-stakeholder partnerships with communities, community health workers, health facility staff, governments, disaster management authorities, academia, and schools.
Meet the Delegation
Pamela Onduso,
Country Director
Kenya
Pamela is a multi-disciplinary Kenyan health professional and advocate with rich Africa-based experience in Reproductive Health program design, implementation, capacity building, grants and financial management with public and private sector partners. She is a technical resource on Adolescent Reproductive Health (ARH), Population, Health and Environment, and related advocacy and policy. She designed Pathfinder’s university-based Youth-Friendly Services projects at Kenyatta, Egerton and Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya); replicated in Tanzania and Uganda. She co-authored Pathfinder’s first Africa Region Adolescent Strategy. She supports Pathfinder’s resource mobilization efforts from the US Government, corporations and foundations (BMGF, MacArthur, Packard). She advocates for women’s empowerment and supports efforts to improve their resilience to climate change.
Ruth Ngechu
Advocacy and External Engagements Director
Kenya
Ruth is a senior leader in public health with 20 years of experience in initiating and cementing strategic partnerships with non-profit organizations, multilateral partners (including USAID, WHO, and UNICEF), and national and regional governments. She has strong advocacy skills and has been a speaker in many high-profile events, including the World Health Assembly, Africa Health Agenda International Conference, Women Deliver, and UN high-level meetings on UHC.
Joram Luke
Senior Advisor, Strategy and Innovation
Kenya
Joram is a medical doctor and public health expert with over 14 years of experience in providing technical support and leadership in HIV programming, including integration with TB, NCDs, MNCH, contraception, cervical cancer prevention, and adolescent reproductive health. He currently serves as the Senior Advisor for Strategy and Innovation at Pathfinder International, offering technical guidance across key program areas. Joram holds an MD from Moi University, Kenya, and a Master of Public Health and Postgraduate Diploma from Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand.
Sharon Atieno
Program Officer, Uzazi Salama
Kenya
Sharon is a public health professional with over twelve years of experience in reproductive health, climate resilience, and women’s empowerment. She is skilled in social behavior change and communication, gender mainstreaming, and advocacy, playing a crucial role in advancing multi-sectoral initiatives that foster inclusive and sustainable solutions for communities and ecosystems in Kenya.
Oumar Onyango
Senior Advisor, Research and Strategic Communications
Kenya
Oumar Onyango is a public health professional specializing in health systems strengthening, epidemiology, and strategic communications in global health. As Senior Advisor for Research and Strategic Communications, Africa at Pathfinder International, Oumar oversees communications strategies across Africa, focusing on Pathfinder’s key pathways of SRHR, Health Systems Strengthening, Women Economic Empowerment & Leadership and Climate and Health. He collaborates closely with the MEL team to align research initiatives with key pathways.
Felician Luchagula
Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Director
Tanzania
Felician has over 15 years of experience in monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) for donor-funded public health projects in Tanzania. Since 2020, he has served as the MEL Director for Pathfinder International Tanzania, where he develops and implements the organization’s MEL strategy and oversees routine program monitoring, documentation, knowledge management, evaluation, research, and learning.
Nabila Chowdhury
SRHR Coordinator
Bangladesh
Nabila is currently working as SRHR Coordinator at Pathfinder International, Bangladesh. She completed her Master’s in Anthropology from the University of Dhaka. She has more than 10 years of work experience in different INGOs and NGOs like Pathfinder International, icddr,b, Save The Children, WaterAid, Marie Stopes International and James P Grant School of Public Health (BRAC University). She has worked in the areas of maternal health, newborn and child health, family planning, gender and GBV, climate change, cervical cancer, RMG sector and urban health services in various projects funded by USAID, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Unicef and so on. She has extensive experience in research, especially in qualitative research. In addition to this, she has actively engaged in quantitative research, situation analysis, reporting of donor funded project activities, concept note development, implementing programs, project planning and management, field operations, budget allocation, working with various level stakeholders, government officials, and communities with specific focus into both urban and rural areas.
Muhammad Bakhsh Khaskheli
District Cluster Coordinator, TAKEDA
Pakistan
MB Khaskheli is currently working with Pathfinder as Sr. Program Officer. He holds a Masters degree in Physiology from the University of Sindh. He boasts over 15 years of multi-sectoral experience in reproductive health, WASH, women led climate resilience, gender Inclusion and responding to disasters/ emergencies- he has first-hand experience in post-flood rehabilitation of displaced communities in 2010, 2022 and 2023. His close work alongside health systems and communities have made him an expert in designing and leading execution of policies, strategies and sustainable solutions for health system strengthening and community engagement through mobilization, advocacy and social behavior change.
