Maureen Luba, is a board Member of the International Partnership for Microbicides and a passionate champion for young women’s health. She is also a member of the National Health Science Research Committee in Malawi whose mandate is to promote, support, coordinate, and regulate research and development in the fields of infectious diseases, health systems, reproductive health, environmental health, nutrition, non-communicable diseases, social and behavioral research, trauma and rehabilitation, mental health and other health related areas. Maureen is a 2015 AVAC fellow who is very passionate about HIV prevention for young women and girls. She is a tireless advocate for HIV prevention programming in PEPFAR and the Global Fund funded projects. She currently coordinates a Regional Advocacy project, COMPASS, that aims at building the capacity and enhancing the participation of Civil Society Coalitions in Malawi, Tanzania and Zimbabwe in Global, PEPFAR and National government decision making processes

based in Nairobi, Kenya. Ms Mburu is a global health advocate and civil society leader in Africa working to create political will for improved health outcomes in Africa. Her areas of expertise include policy analysis; building political support for health outcomes; influencing decision making processes; mobilizing civil society and community voices for action; and promoting good participatory practice in clinical trials.

Ms Mburu has extensively worked on building and strengthening civil society and community organizing for health Advocacy in Africa. She oversees the Civil Society Platform on Health in Africa (CiSPHA); the Global Fund Advocates Network (GFAN)- Africa hub; and the Africa free of New HIV Infections (AfNHi) Network. She is a member of the Vaccine Advocacy Resource Group (VARG). Mburu is the Southern CSO representative on UHC2030.

Ms Mburu has published several peer-reviewed articles and blogs including on: clinical trial ethics- International Journal of Clinical Practice; investments in HIV Prevention Research- African Journal of Reproductive Health; Biomedical HIV Prevention- BMC Proceedings; and strengthening primary health care- Lancet Global Health blog.

Ms Mburu holds a Masters in Public Health (MPH), Ohio University and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA), Frostburg State University.

Ntando Yola has over a decade involved in the field of clinical research, mobilizing and engaging with communities mostly in HIV prevention trials. He has done most of his work in association with research conducted through the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation and its global network where he started as a Community Liaison Officer in Cape Town. His HIV prevention research involvement started with phase 1 HIV vaccine trials where he worked and grew with these communities advancing science progress through their involvement.

Out of this work he realized a need and became involved in HIV prevention advocacy and in 2013 was a fellow through Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention (AVAC). This is where his muscle for advocacy was strengthened and became part of the HIV prevention advocacy movement. At the core to his HIV prevention advocacy work is ensuring that intersections between research, communities and factors that affect communities are recognizable. He believes along with many advocates that success to combat the effects of HIV, especially in Africa, lies in integrating commitments and efforts of biomedicine with human rights informed programming. Science alone will fail if governments, developmental organizations and businesses or trade, anchored by involvement of community voices and participation are not collectively party to development. As part of all his work, Ntando is a member of various networks in country, regionally and globally to advance science, engage communities and advocate for policies towards ending AIDS.

Friedel works as an advocate for HIV prevention, care and support, human rights and specifically focusses his attention on access to biomedical prevention and treatment tools for LGBTIQ+ individuals living with HIV in Namibia and across the subregion. Diagnosed with HIV in 1999 when treatment options were still unavailable in Namibia, his advocacy started around stemming the scaremongering and negative rhetoric that encourages stigmatization and discrimination of PLHIV. Currently, Friedel is the Director of the national LGBTIQ+ organisations, Out-Right Namibia, which seeks to overturn unfair anti-LGBTIQ+ laws and to ensure that the prevention, care and support initiatives and research to ensure that marginalized communities are not left behind. Friedel coordinated the Diversity Alliance of Namibia which brings together civil society organisations which advocates for equal rights and non-discrimination of feminist women’s rights, sex worker rights and LGBTIQ+ rights. Friedel studied Psychology and German language at undergraduate level and currently has pursued further studies in health economics and currently in public and community health science.

Georgina Caswell is Head of Programmes at the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+). Georgina was Programme Manager at GNP+ from 2008 – 2013, where she supported networks of people living with HIV to build their research and advocacy skills to access prevention and treatment information and services. Georgina was most recently a Programme Manager at Frontline AIDS where she was leading a range of sexual and reproductive health and rights programmes aimed at building resilient and empowered adolescents and young people. Georgina also serves in a number of HIV leadership roles, including as Vice-Chair of the International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM), Chair of IPM’s Access Advisory Committee, and Organising Committee member of the HIV & Adolescence International Workshop.

A 4th year student pursuing Journalism and Media Studies option Development Communication at The University of Nairobi. I am also a graduate with a diploma in Public Relations from The Cooperative University of Kenya. My biggest passion and desire was and has always been to work closely with young people with a desire to create positive change and tranforming negative attitudes and behavior through communication. The biggest chunk of my work is on training, advocacy, awareness creation and development projects as I get to interact and train communities to take part and participate in development issues withing their community especially on matters sexual reproductive health. I am a youth Advocate with the Network for Adolescent and Youth of Africa ( NAYA KENYA), a young person in the Africa Free of New HIV infections (AfNHi) steering committee, A young person in the SheDecides Kenyan Chapter Committee, a communications support for Straight Talk Kenya, A social media support for Nyanam International and currently working with Reproductive Health Network Kenya as their youth project coordinator.

With over 20 years of experience, Dr Madiarra Coulibaly holds a Doctorate in medicine and specialized in Public Health. Since 2013, she is Executive Director of the Alliance Cote d’Ivoire, which is the principal recipient of the community HIV and tuberculosis component of the Global Fund in Ivory Coast, working with around 60 civil society organizations, and which also contributes to civil society organization capacity building in several countries of Francophone Africa. Dr Madiarra is one of the founding members of the Civil Society Institute for Health and HIV in West and Central Africa. Before joining Alliance Côte d’Ivoire, she worked as a national HIV and gender expert at UNDP Côte d’Ivoire, National coordinator of French Ivorian hospital twinning project called “projet ESTHER”, and manager of PMTCT and community interventions at a PEPFAR implementor partner called NGO ACONDA-VS. She is the author of several published papers on PMTCT, care for prisoners, sex workers and MSM in the Ivory Coast.