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Who we are: |
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Steve started humanitarian work in 1985. Since that time he has developed extensive experience in the design, implementation and evaluation of humanitarian programmes. He is a medical doctor with a clinical doctorate (MD) in nutrition during famine relief operations and a visiting research fellow at the University of London, Centre for International Child Health. He is active in the field, assessing potential emergencies, designing and setting up humanitarian programmes. His primary interest is in developing new approaches to some of the common problems facing humanitarian organisations. His research has been published in journals such as Nature Medicine and the Lancet. He regularly gives key note addresses in international conferences, most recently in CAPGAN 2003, CTC conference in Dublin and Washington DC and lectures in subjects ranging from adult malnutrition, evaluating humanitarian aid, integrating bio-medicine and traditional practitioner and implementing relief programmes, in places such as Jamaica, Tanzania, Ireland, DPRK, USA and several universities in the UK (Cambridge, Oxford, LSHTM, Aberdeen and York). He reviews articles on emergency interventions for the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Disasters, Lancet and Journal of Paediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition. |
Dr. Steve Collins
(MBE, MD, MBBS)
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Alistair is an economist and a medical doctor with over 20 years experience working in humanitarianism. He has been evaluation manager for many major humanitarian evaluations of the last decade. He has written widely on humanitarian issues, authoring amongst other works, the influential guide to evaluating humanitarian aid programmes, “Evaluating Humanitarian Assistance Programmes in Complex Emergencies”. |
Dr. Alistair Hallam
(BSc., MA., MB BS.)
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Paluku is a Medical Doctor with over 20 years experience in the fields of public health, paediatrics, nutrition & HIV/AIDS. He has worked in a number of hospitals including Fikin Medicale (DRC), Lwiro Paediatric Hospital (DRC) and the Hôpital Universitaire Saint-Pierre (Belgium). In 2003, he joined Valid International as a CTC advisor. Since then he has provided technical support to Ministries of Health in Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mali. He has also supported a number of International NGOs, including Concern Worldwide, CRS Zambia, Save the Children (US) and ActionAid (Malawi). In 2006 he became Valid International’s Research Focal Person. He has personally been involved in a wide range of research projects including; the integration of CTC with other child survival strategies; the use of RUFs for HIV-positive adults, and; the use of CTC for providing HIV services and managing malnutrition in HIV infected children and adults. He is a regular contributor to international peer-reviewed journals like the Paediatric Infectious Disease Journal, the European Journal of Paediatrics and the Journal of Tropical Paediatrics. He is fluent in English & French. |
Dr. Paluku Bahwere (PhD)
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Theresa has been working in nutrition for over twenty years. She has a background in Agriculture (University of Malawi) and an MSc in Community Nutrition (Howard University, USA). Between 1987 and 2007, she held various senior positions in Malawi’s Ministry of Health, including Head of Nutrition Unit, National Micronutrient Coordinator (MICAH Programme), Deputy Director of Clinical Services Responsible for Nutrition and School Health and Nutrition Technical Specialist (in partnership with the World Bank). During that period she was involved in multiple operational research projects including; growth monitoring and promotion (1991), breastfeeding and weaning practices (1991-2), prevalence of anaemia in pregnant women in antenatal clinics in Malawi (1994), prevalence of iodine deficiency in newborns in Malawi (1995), National Nutrition Surveys (2002-3), point prevalence study of HIV in children admitted in Nutrition Rehabilitation Units, , and Malawi’s National School Health and Nutrition Baseline Survey (2006). She joined Valid in 2007, as Country Manager (Malawi) and Focal Point (African Region). Since then she has coordinated Valid’s activities in much of southern Africa, and has been personally involved in operational research on the use of RUFs in the treatment of malnutrition in chronically sick adults and nutrition care and support for the prevention of weight loss in People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs). She is currently based in Lilongwe, Malawi. |
Theresa Banda
(BSc., MSc.)
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Anne has been working in international health and nutrition in various roles for the last 20 years. She has worked with NGO’s and has been seconded to work with national governments in implementation and development of primary health services. Responsibilities have included technical support, health worker training, nutritional surveys, set up and management of emergency responses, project design and programmes management. Anne joined Valid International in 2003 and now works as operations manager to coordinate, support and design all aspects of the Community based Therapeutic Care approach to treatment of acute malnutrition in many countries and contexts. |
Anne Walsh
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Paul has 15 years experience working as a nurse in intensive care in university teaching hospitals in both the USA and UK with extensive clinical management experience. He joined Valid in 2004 and has worked as an advisor in several countries including Ethiopia, Malawi, Sudan, Kenya, Bangladesh and Zambia. His CTC work includes all aspects of project implementation from initial assessment and set up through to final evaluation and is conducted through close cooperation with national government bodies, NGOs, front line health workers and community representatives. He has also been directly involved in Valid’s research programmes and local production of therapeutic food. Paul has also participated in the development of national guidelines related to CTC. |
Paul Binns (BSc., RN.)
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Filippo has a background in Food Science and Technology (University of Udine, 1993) and Public Health Nutrition (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 2003). He worked for four years in the Brazilian Amazon region assisting local farmers with food processing and conducting research with local universities. He has worked with a range of UN agencies including FAO, WFP and IFAD, and for international NGOs in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Since 2005 he has been working for Valid International as a CTC advisor, and CSAS and LQAS coverage surveyor. His areas of expertise also include design (Linear Programming) and testing (nutrition epidemiology) of new therapeutic food recipes, GIS mapping and data analysis and quality assurance of food production. With the support of Valid, he is currently working on his PhD research in Kenya under the supervision the University College of London, Centre for International Health and Development, Institute of Child Health (Dr. Andrew Seal and Prof. Andrew Tomkins). His research is focused on the design and testing of a new, ready-to use therapeutic food (RUF) for malnourished adults living with HIV. The project also involves collecting data about their household’s food and nutrition security. He is fluent in Italian, English, Portuguese and French. |
Filippo Dibari (MSc.)
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Issakha is a nutritionist with a Research Doctorate. Over the last eight years, he has been working as an Associate Assistant at the University of Dakar. His teaching has included lecture in Physiology of functions, BSc natural science and seminar for school nurses. He has also been involved in numerous nutrition research projects in Senegal. After completing his thesis he worked for 2 years as a consultant for Nutriset and was involved on the development/testing of RUFs. His current work as a CTC advisor has taken him to DRC, Niger, Burundi, Malawi, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Djibouti, Yemen, Bangladesh and Ha?ti. He is fluent in French and English. |
Issakha Diop (PhD.)
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Bernie is a Registered General Nurse who has worked periodically since the early 1990’s as an aid worker in health and nutrition. She has worked with Concern Worldwide and the International Red Cross in various countries in Africa. After completing an MSc in Public Health Nutrition she began working with Valid International in 2005. With Valid she has worked in Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger, Sudan, Indonesia and more recently Mozambique. She has provided technical support to a wide range of NGOS including GOAL, Save the Children (US), COOPI, Concern Worldwide, World Vision, Save the Children (UK), CARE and UNICEF. Her role with Valid has been varied. She has worked in setting up and reviewing CTC programmes as well as conducting feasibility assessments for new CTC programmes. More recently she has been involved in assisting MOH/UNICEF implement CTC at a national level including the development of national guidelines. Bernie is a English, French and Portuguese speaker. |
| Bernie Feeney (MSc.) |
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Lio is a qualified public health nutritionist. Over the last fifteen years, Lio has worked in both emergency and development programmes in over ten African countries. She has ample managerial and training experience at field level. Lio joined Valid in 2006 and has since developed a strong expertise in the various stages of the CTC approach including the CSAS coverage survey approach. She is fluent in Italian, French & English. |
Lionella Fieschi (MSc.)
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Saul has background in Social Anthropology (University of St.Andrews, 2002) with a Masters in Humanitarian Programming (University College Dublin, 2003). He joined Valid in 2003 as a social & community development advisor. He specialises in socio-cultural research, in fields as varied as local perceptions of malnutrition, health seeking behaviours, barriers to access, food security and HIV/AIDS-related stigma. He has also been responsible for the design, implementation and evaluation of outreach strategies in CTC programmes. He is also involved in the training of community volunteers and outreach workers. His work has taken him to Ethiopia, South & North Sudan, Malawi, Zambia, Niger, Chad, Sierra Leone, DRC, Algeria, Kenya and Indonesia. He is fluent in both English and Spanish. |
Saul Guerrero
(BA., MSc.)
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Abel has a Medical Doctorate Degree (Jimma University, Ethiopia) and is currently pursuing an MSc in Public Health in Developing Countries at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Health (LSHTH). He has worked as a General Practitioner in Ethiopia, and has lectured on Public health and Physiology at Jimma University and the Defence University Health Science College. He worked as a nutritionist with Save the Children (US) in Ethiopia in 2003-2004. He joined Valid in May 2005, and has since worked as a CTC advisor in Ethiopia, Sudan, Malawi, Kenya and Zambia. He has also been directly involved in a number of research projects in the field of nutrition and HIV/AIDS. He is fluent in both English and Amharic. |
Abel Hailu (MD)
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Marko is a qualified medical doctor (University College London Medical School, 1998). He has long had an interest in international health, with initial experiences on projects in Guyana, Serbia, and India. After completion of basic specialist training in paediatrics in the UK (Plymouth & South London), he worked in Malawi at the College of Medicine, Blantyre as an honorary lecturer and registrar in the Department of Paediatrics 2003-2004. It was there - on "MOYO" ward -Malawi's biggest and busiest Nutritional Rehabilitation Unit, that he first came into contact with Valid and developed his current interest in the management of child malnutrition. Following a year back in the UK studying for the Public Health for Developing Countries MSc at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, he returned to Malawi in late 2005 where he combined more clinical and teaching duties with a part-time PhD, supported by Valid and based academically at the Centre for International Health & Development (UK). The main PhD trial was a large RCT looking at new RUTF and probiotic-enhanced RUTF in improving the management of acute child malnutrition. He is currently analysing both these results and working on the several other projects stemming from the same trial, as well as working on a new project looking at the Management of Acute Malnutrition in Infants (MAMI). |
Marko Kerac
(MB BS., MPH) |
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Emmanuel holds a bachelor’s degree in Education Humanities with Majors in Home Economics. He joined Valid in 2004, and has since worked as a Social & Community Development Advisor. He has worked on community-related issues including design, implementation and evaluation of community mobilisation strategies in a number of CTC programmes in Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Southern Sudan, Zambia, and Uganda. He is also involved in the training of health workers and community volunteers and outreach workers. He is fluent in English and Chichewa. |
Emmanuel Mandalazi (BA)
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Yvonne has over 10 years experience implementing and managing HIV/AIDS and Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) programs funded by the United
States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in Zambia. She has worked for
Project Concern International (PCI) in Zambia where she managed three multi- year USAID funded HIV/AIDS and OVC capacity building programs for
local Non Governmental and Community Based Organizations. From 2004 to 2007, she managed a community based supplementary
feeding and treatment adherence program for patients accessing Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) in 15 primary health centres in Lusaka District and
Lewanika General Hospital in Mongu District. From June 2007 to September 2008, she managed a multi-year PEPFAR funded OVC
program, implemented in five districts in Zambia. While at PCI, Yvonne participated in an operational research on the impact of programmatic
interventions of the well being of OVC and an operational research on community based follow up for late patients enrolled in a district wide
programme for ART in Lusaka. She has presented papers highlighting successful community based HIV/AIDS and OVC interventions at multiple AIDS
conferences. She joined Valid International Zambia in October 2008 as Manager for the Country Office. |
Yvonne Mulenga
(H.Dip., MPH)
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Montse is a fully qualified and experiences Public Health nurse. She has worked in nutritionist and health advisory roles throughout the world in both emergency and development contexts and at both field and headquarters level. She has strong expertise in the development of monitoring and evaluation tools for nutrition programmes. She has strong training and research skills, and has been a lecturer for a wide range of Universities, lecturing on topics such as Health Interventions for Refugees and Displaced Populations and Nutrition Activities in Emergencies. She is a Spanish and Catalan native speaker, fluent in English and French, and well versed in Portuguese. |
Montserrat Saboya (MSc.)
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Laura Banks has worked as a desk officer for Valid since May 2007 and as of January 2010 as the senior desk officer. Laura’s responsibilities include preparing applications for funding from government donors and planning, designing and managing Valid’s field operations. She plays a pivotal role in logistical support for staff in the field, and in field report editing. Laura has field experience in the areas of malnutrition, health and education across Africa and Brazil. She has worked for several years in the fields of education and charity, and holds a BA in Development Studies. |
Laura Banks (BA)
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Samantha Drew is a desk officer in Oxford and is responsible for planning and managing Valid's field operations in Asia-Pacific and English-speaking Africa, including field report editing and logistics. After several years of working in luxury travel she took an MA in International Relations and went on to work for a policy management consultancy, providing office support to the field as well as preparing project proposals. Sam recently spent a year working in Cambodia, undertaking a range of programme related roles for local and international NGOs in the fields of gender and capacity development. |
Samantha Drew (BA, MA)
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Basia Benda is a desk officer in Oxford and is responsible for planning and managing Valid's field operations in French-speaking Africa. Basia has worked in Latin America, Asia and Europe with a variety of NGOs within the fields of human rights, gender and development. Basia holds an MA in Conflict Studies and Human Rights. She has recently worked with Womankind Worldwide in London. Basia is fluent in Polish, English, French and Spanish. |
Basia Benda (MA)
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Judy was born and educated in Zimbabwe and for some years was a Secretary/Personal Assistant before venturing into the world of accountancy. She has over 20 years’ experience in managing a finance department, including strategic planning, budgeting and reporting, both to management and external parties. She was the Accountant for various organisations and then self-employed in Zimbabwe f(9 years): Regional Accountant in South Africa (3 years); Finance Manager and then Financial Controller for a charity, England (5 years). She joined Valid as a Finance Manager in May 2003. |
Judy Walters
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Valbona has been working as a Finance Assistant with Valid since 2007. She has a BA (Honours) in Accounting & Economics from Oxford Brookes University (2004), and is currently studying towards the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) qualification. Before joining Valid, Valbona worked as an accountant in a medium sized import-export trading company in Albania. She is an integral part of Valid’s finance team, assisting both the Oxford office as well as the field offices in Zambia and Malawi. Valbona is fluent in English, Albanian and Italian. |
Valbona Luci (BA)
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Gideon is the Office Manager in Oxford. After studying Physics and Philosophy at Bristol University, Gideon travelled extensively around India, Nepal and South East Asia in an attempt to combine his love of travel and martial arts. His responsibilities in Valid include travel arrangements to the field, IT support, coordinating acquisition and distribution of IT equipment as well as researching and ordering production equipment. He also maintains Valid Internationa's information systems and provides general administration for the Oxford office and staff in the field. |
Gideon Jones (BSc, MSci)
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