The University of Cape Town (UCT) proudly hosted the inaugural Health Collaborative Convening from October 15th to 17th, 2023, at the scenic Protea Hotel by Marriott, Waterfront Breakwater Lodge in Cape Town, South Africa.
People Directory
Our team is the heartbeat of our collaborative efforts, comprising diverse experts from various fields. Each member brings unique skills and perspectives, uniting to drive innovation and impact in the health sector. Together, we are more than just a team; we are a community committed to transforming healthcare across Africa.
Damen Haile Mariam, MD, MPH, PhD, is a Professor of Public Health and Health Economics at the School of Public Health, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.
Professor Damen is registered as a Consultant Community Health Specialist with the Federal Ministry of Health (serving as member and consultant within various national and international professional committees). In addition, he is a fellow of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences.
He is currently serving as Dean of the School of Public Health, Addis Ababa University (since 2019); Regional Editor (Africa) for the South Eastern European Journal of Public Health (since 2014); and Member of Ambo University Board (since 2022). He has also served as: President of the Ethiopian Public Health Association (2001-2005); Member of the Executive Board of the World Federation of Public Health Associations (2003-2006); and Editor-In-Chief of theEthiopian Journal of Health Development(2009 – 2016).
Ms. Marie Therese Yaba Ndiaye is the Regional Lead, Health Networks at the Office of Vice President International at the University of Toronto.
She leads the implementation of the Health Employment Pillar of the Africa Health Collaborative, which aims to expand the capacity to train primary healthcare workers to meet growing demand in Africa. Prior to joining the University of Toronto, she worked with USAID, World Food Programme, and community-based organizations on climate resilience and humanitarian assistance programming. In those positions, she covered and traveled widely in West and Central African countries. She holds a Ph.D. in Rural Sociology and can work in French, English, and Portuguese.
Professor J. Paul Santerre has published >220 peer reviewed publications and is a listed inventor on >70 patents in the area of medical polymers.
He is co-founder and current director of the Health Innovation Hub at the University of Toronto (a student focused entrepreneur training co-curricular program that has trained > 650 client health science companies which have generated > $430M CAD). He was the 2022 – 2023 Chair of the Health Entrepreneurship Pillar for the Africa Health Collaborative supported by the Mastercard Foundation. He is a co-founder of Interface Biologics, along with having spun-out five other start-up companies from his lab, and has won multiple national awards for his achievements in enabling entrepreneurship, including Canada’s Governor General award for Innovation, and the Professional Engineers of Ontario Entrepreneurship Award in 2017. He has received multiple awards for his community activity including the 2016 Community award from the Canadian Biomaterials, the 2018 President’s Impact Award from the University of Toronto.
JesusMiracle is the Regional Lead (Health Employment), International Research Officer at the Office of the Vice-President International, University of Toronto. She is also completing a PhD in Higher Education with a collaborative specialization in Comparative, International and Development Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. She graduated with an M.Ed. in Higher Education, and has an interdisciplinary background in the arts, psychology and entrepreneurship. She has lived on three continents which impacted her worldview and interests in understanding education from a global perspective. Having worked extensively with international students, she is interested in understanding how internationalization policies impact their experiences on an institutional level, and how institutions can improve the services and supports provided to students.
