Dr El-Adawy was appointed Director, Division of Health Protection and Promotion, in July 2016. She previously worked as the Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in the Islamic Republic of Iran and Programme and Technical Regional Advisor, Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights in the UNFPA Regional Office in Cairo, Egypt. Additionally, Dr. El-Adawy was the Policy Adviser for Health in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). and Senior Regional Reproductive Health and Reproductive Rights Program Officer at the Ford Foundation. Dr. El-Adawy holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from the Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt, a Master’s degree in Public Health from Cairo University, and a Master’s degree of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health from Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, as well as a Doctorate degree of Public Health from Cairo University.

At the Institute of Rehabilitation, Mr. Murtonen leads and develops global action and international collaboration. I am also in charge of the development group of Global Action. After graduating as a physiotherapist from Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences in 2002, he moved to Tanzania to develop a community-based and multidisciplinary rehabilitation program with the support from EU. He has international experience in Southeast Asia and East Africa in versatile roles: developing health services in conflict areas, building capacity of disability organizations, and designing digital solutions. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Health and Professional Specialisation Education for Multi-Professional Home Care Reablement.

Dr. Alarcos Cieza oversees the World Health Organization’s work on vision, hearing, disability and rehabilitation in her position of Unit Head, Sensory Functions, Disability and Rehabilitation. After obtaining her MSc in psychology in Madrid, Spain, she conducted a Master in Public Health and obtained a PhD in Medical Psychology from the Ludwig-Maximillians University in Munich, Germany.

At Results for Development, Ms. Chikhradze provides technical and managerial leadership, mainly on health systems and health financing. Under the Accelerator project, Tamara works to strengthen rehabilitation in health systems in Ethiopia and Georgia, and to facilitate global learning on improving health financing functions for rehabilitation. Ms. Chikhradze holds an MSc in health policy, planning and financing from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

As Technical Manager for WHO Regional Office for Europe, Mr. Mishra supports countries in the region to strengthen policies, systems, and service delivery for disability, rehabilitation, and assistive technology in order to ensure equitable access to services. He is actively involved with the implementation of the WHO Disability Action Plan 2014-2021 at country level. Mr. Mishra has studied at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta.