About Us

Zimbabwe health workers receive PPE from donors

About Us

Our Vision, Mission, and Values

A world in which everyone is able to live a healthy and fulfilling life.

The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to saving lives and improving health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries by enabling the government and private sector to strengthen and sustain quality health systems.

We are a mission-driven organization.

We work in cooperation with and at the service of partner governments.

We work with urgency.

We foster diversity, equity, and inclusion.

We operate on trust and transparency.

We have an entrepreneurial and action-oriented culture.

We operate with humility.

We recognize our staff is our greatest asset.

We are frugal.

Learn more about our values

Our Vision, Mission, and Values

Vision

A world in which everyone is able to live a healthy and fulfilling life.

Mission

To save lives and improve health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries by enabling the government and private sector to strengthen and sustain quality health systems.

Values

  • We are a mission-driven organization.
  • We work in cooperation with and at the service of partner governments.
  • We work with urgency.
  • We foster diversity, equity, and inclusion.
  • We operate on trust and transparency.
  • We have an entrepreneurial and action-oriented culture.
  • We operate with humility.
  • We recognize our staff is our greatest asset.
  • We are frugal.

Learn more about our values

Our History

CHAI was founded in 2002 with a transformational goal: help save the lives of millions of people living with HIV/AIDS. Today, we support government priorities across many areas, including other infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, women and children’s health, health workforce and financing, assistive technologies for disabilities, and the intersection of climate and health.

2002- 2003

CHAI’s first program: HIV/AIDS

First programs begin in Africa and the Caribbean, aimed at scaling up HIV/AIDS care and treatment in entire countries. 800,000 people are treated in these countries in five years as a result of this work, up from a total of 2,000 when the work began.

First programs begin in Africa and the Caribbean, aimed at scaling up HIV/AIDS care and treatment in entire countries. 800,000 people are treated in these countries in five years as a result of this work, up from a total of 2,000 when the work began.

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2003

HIV first-line agreement

CHAI negotiates lower prices for first-line HIV drugs by over 60 percent, enabling over 60 countries to access the new prices.

CHAI negotiates lower prices for first-line HIV drugs by over 60 percent, enabling over 60 countries to access the new prices.

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2003

ART program in South Africa

CHAI begins work with South Africa to scale up treatment, laying the foundation for the largest antiretroviral therapy (ART) program in the world.

CHAI begins work with South Africa to scale up treatment, laying the foundation for the largest antiretroviral therapy (ART) program in the world.

2004- 2005

Pediatric HIV treatment

CHAI leads global effort alongside Unitaid to scale up treatment for children with AIDS in 34 countries, from around 75,000 on treatment to over 900,000 today, lowering the price of medications from over US$600 to around US$60 per child, per year.

CHAI leads global effort alongside Unitaid to scale up treatment for children with AIDS in 34 countries, from around 75,000 on treatment to over 900,000 today, lowering the price of medications from over US$600 to around US$60 per child, per year.

2005- 2007

HIV second-line agreement

CHAI works with Unitaid to negotiate agreements to lower the price of second-line HIV/AIDS treatments by 75 percent and accelerate the roll out of these drugs to over 30 countries where patients were failing on first-line treatments.

CHAI works with Unitaid to negotiate agreements to lower the price of second-line HIV/AIDS treatments by 75 percent and accelerate the roll out of these drugs to over 30 countries where patients were failing on first-line treatments.

2007

Expansion into malaria

CHAI launches a malaria program, which grows rapidly to help government partners increase funding to combat malaria, improve access to quality diagnosis and treatment, and support evidence-based decision making to target resources and accelerate progress toward elimination.

CHAI launches a malaria program, which grows rapidly to help government partners increase funding to combat malaria, improve access to quality diagnosis and treatment, and support evidence-based decision making to target resources and accelerate progress toward elimination.

2009

Scale-up HIV care and treatment in South Africa

CHAI assists the government of South Africa with the largest scale-up of HIV care and treatment ever attempted, from 800,000 people in 2009 to approximately three million today. CHAI helps negotiate agreements to lower HIV and TB drug prices that save the South African government almost US$1 billion.

CHAI assists the government of South Africa with the largest scale-up of HIV care and treatment ever attempted, from 800,000 people in 2009 to approximately three million today. CHAI helps negotiate agreements to lower HIV and TB drug prices that save the South African government almost US$1 billion.

2010

Effective drugs to treat malaria

CHAI increases access to artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs). Over two years, we help get almost 300 million ACTs to patients in eight countries.

CHAI increases access to artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs). Over two years, we help get almost 300 million ACTs to patients in eight countries.

2011

Expansion into vaccines

CHAI begins work to lower costs and increase access to vaccines. Alongside the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CHAI negotiates a landmark agreement to lower the price of the GSK rotavirus vaccine by 67 percent and the Biological E. Limited pentavalent vaccine by 50 percent, saving the global community over US$800 million and US$150 million respectively. The pentavalent vaccine averted an estimated 2.6 million deaths from 2011-2015.

CHAI begins work to lower costs and increase access to vaccines. Alongside the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CHAI negotiates a landmark agreement to lower the price of the GSK rotavirus vaccine by 67 percent and the Biological E. Limited pentavalent vaccine by 50 percent, saving the global community over US$800 million and US$150 million respectively. The pentavalent vaccine averted an esti...

2011

MATCH study launch

CHAI, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, conducts the Multi-Country Analysis of Treatment Costs for HIV/AIDS (MATCH) with the governments of Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, and Zambia, using evidence to inform debate on affordability and sustainability of universal access to treatment. As a result, an additional 443,000 patients are eligible for treatment.

CHAI, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, conducts the Multi-Country Analysis of Treatment Costs for HIV/AIDS (MATCH) with the governments of Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, and Zambia, using evidence to inform debate on affordability and sustainability of universal access to treatment. As a result, an additional 443,000 patients are eligible for treatment.

2011

Expansion into human resources for health

CHAI helps the government of Rwanda establish a world-class health system through educating doctors, nurses, and health managers. CHAI eventually expands this work to other countries including Liberia, Malawi, and Zambia.

CHAI helps the government of Rwanda establish a world-class health system through educating doctors, nurses, and health managers. CHAI eventually expands this work to other countries including Liberia, Malawi, and Zambia.

2012

Human resources for health in Zambia

CHAI begins working with the Zambian government to educate large groups of community health assistants who are then deployed to villages across the country to bring high-quality healthcare to people with limited access.

CHAI begins working with the Zambian government to educate large groups of community health assistants who are then deployed to villages across the country to bring high-quality healthcare to people with limited access.

2012

Long-acting reversible contraception

CHAI and partners, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, United States Agency for International Development, NORAD, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, negotiate an agreement to lower the price of Bayer and Merck’s long-acting reversible contraceptives from US$18 to US$8.50 per implant and accelerate roll-out of the products to save the lives of women.

CHAI and partners, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, United States Agency for International Development, NORAD, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, negotiate an agreement to lower the price of Bayer and Merck’s long-acting reversible contraceptives from U...

2013

Improving severe malaria testing and treatment

CHAI works to lower the cost and increase the availability of injectable artesunate, a malaria medicine that can dramatically decrease malaria mortality, particularly in children. CHAI also worked with global manufacturers and importers in Tanzania’s private sector to reduce the price of malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) by 50 to 70 percent.

CHAI works to lower the cost and increase the availability of injectable artesunate, a malaria medicine that can dramatically decrease malaria mortality, particularly in children. CHAI also worked with global manufacturers and importers in Tanzania’s private sector to reduce the price of malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) by 50 to 70 percent.

2013

Treating childhood diarrhea

CHAI begins work to reduce mortality from diarrhea for children under five, scaling up access to lifesaving zinc/ORS treatment in India, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda. CHAI supports governments to lower the cost of zinc/ORS products, resulting in wholesale prices dropping by approximately 60 percent.

CHAI begins work to reduce mortality from diarrhea for children under five, scaling up access to lifesaving zinc/ORS treatment in India, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda. CHAI supports governments to lower the cost of zinc/ORS products, resulting in wholesale prices dropping by approximately 60 percent.

2014

Ebola response in Liberia

CHAI, with the support of the Norwegian Government, helps lead case management and health worker training in response to the Ebola crisis in Liberia, serving as a critical link between the international emergency response and the Liberian government.

CHAI, with the support of the Norwegian Government, helps lead case management and health worker training in response to the Ebola crisis in Liberia, serving as a critical link between the international emergency response and the Liberian government.

2014

Introducing new products to treat childhood diarrhea

CHAI helps introduce more than 15 new high-quality, affordable zinc and ORS products, including co-packaged products, into local markets in CHAI partner countries. The increased market competition leads to wholesale prices being reduced by 40 to 75 percent.

CHAI helps introduce more than 15 new high-quality, affordable zinc and ORS products, including co-packaged products, into local markets in CHAI partner countries. The increased market competition leads to wholesale prices being reduced by 40 to 75 percent.

A neonate in an incubator sleeps while receiving supplemental oxygen.

2015

Expansion into new programs

CHAI introduces new programs in hepatitis, pneumonia, and cancer.

CHAI introduces new programs in hepatitis, pneumonia, and cancer.

A neonate in an incubator sleeps while receiving supplemental oxygen.

2015- 2016

Reducing mother and infant deaths in Nigeria

CHAI introduces a comprehensive community-based approach to save mothers and newborns in Northern Nigeria through improved outreach, treatment, and training of health workers, resulting in a sustained 37 percent reduction in maternal deaths, a 43 percent reduction in newborn deaths, and a 15 percent reduction in stillbirths within 12 months.

CHAI introduces a comprehensive community-based approach to save mothers and newborns in Northern Nigeria through improved outreach, treatment, and training of health workers, resulting in a sustained 37 percent reduction in maternal deaths, a 43 percent reduction in newborn deaths, and a 15 percent reduction in stillbirths within 12 months.

2016

Lowering the cost of hepatitis C treatment

CHAI helps reduce the cost of hepatitis C treatment in seven countries by 71 to 95 percent, from US$2,618 per patient to between US$133 and US$789 per patient treated.

CHAI helps reduce the cost of hepatitis C treatment in seven countries by 71 to 95 percent, from US$2,618 per patient to between US$133 and US$789 per patient treated.

2016

Ethiopia develops first-of-its-kind medical oxygen roadmap in Africa

While many countries later followed suite, CHAI's support to implement this in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic significantly contributed to Ethiopia's preparedness and access to oxygen to treat COVID-19 patients during the early days of the pandemic.

While many countries later followed suite, CHAI's support to implement this in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic significantly contributed to Ethiopia's preparedness and access to oxygen to treat COVID-19 patients during the early days of the pandemic.

2017

Increasing access to cancer medications

CHAI announces an agreement with the American Cancer Society, Pfizer Inc., and Cipla Inc. to expand access to 16 essential cancer treatment medications, including chemotherapies, in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, where 44 percent of cancer cases in sub-Saharan Africa occur.

CHAI announces an agreement with the American Cancer Society, Pfizer Inc., and Cipla Inc. to expand access to 16 essential cancer treatment medications, including chemotherapies, in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, where 44 percent of cancer cases in sub-Saharan Africa occur.

2017

Affordable single-pill HIV regimen with DTG

CHAI and partners, including UNAIDS, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Unitaid, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, PEPFAR, USAID, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, announce a groundbreaking agreement with Aurobindo and Viatris to accelerate the availability of the first affordable, generic, single-pill HIV treatment containing DTG, a best-in-class HIV medication, to public sector purchasers in low- and middle-income countries at around US$75 per person, per year.

CHAI and partners, including UNAIDS, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Unitaid, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, PEPFAR, USAID, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, announce a groundbreaking agreement with Aurobindo and Viatris to accelerate the availability of the first affordable, generic, single-pill HIV treatment containing DTG, a be...

2018

Breakthrough pricing agreement for latest diagnostic technology

CHAI and partners, including United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), Unitaid, MedAccess (backed by the UK government), the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM), and the government of Zambia, reach a breakthrough pricing agreement with Hologic to significantly lower the cost of state-of-the art diagnostic testing for HIV, hepatitis, and cervical cancer in low-and middle-income countries at a price of US$12 per patient sample.

CHAI and partners, including United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), Unitaid, MedAccess (backed by the UK government), the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM), and the government of Zambia, reach a breakthrough pricing agreement with Hologic to significantly lower the cost of state-of-the ar...

2018

Lowering costs for lifesaving oxygen diagnostics

CHAI helps negotiate a 58 percent reduction, on average, for the price of handheld pulse oximeters — simple, life-saving tools that can help quickly diagnose severe pneumonia.

CHAI helps negotiate a 58 percent reduction, on average, for the price of handheld pulse oximeters — simple, life-saving tools that can help quickly diagnose severe pneumonia.

2019

Improving access to quality cancer treatment

CHAI forms Allied Against Cancer with the American Cancer Society, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), and IBM. NCCN adapts cancer-treatment guidelines for use in African hospitals and IBM develops an online tool to help African oncologists use the guidelines more efficiently.

CHAI forms Allied Against Cancer with the American Cancer Society, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), and IBM. NCCN adapts cancer-treatment guidelines for use in African hospitals and IBM develops an online tool to help African oncologists use the guidelines more efficiently.

2019

Expansion into cervical cancer

CHAI begins work to scale up safe, effective, and affordable cervical cancer screening and treatment of pre-cancerous legions across partner countries.

CHAI begins work to scale up safe, effective, and affordable cervical cancer screening and treatment of pre-cancerous legions across partner countries.

2020

Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic

CHAI helps countries secure affordable supplies to safely and effectively treat patients with COVID-19, including personal protective equipment, biomedical devices for oxygen therapy, and diagnostics. This includes a global partnership with Unitaid, Viatris, and Macleods to make available 120 million affordable, rapid diagnostic tests for low- and middle-income countries.

CHAI helps countries secure affordable supplies to safely and effectively treat patients with COVID-19, including personal protective equipment, biomedical devices for oxygen therapy, and diagnostics. This includes a global partnership with Unitaid, Viatris, and Macleods to make available 120 million affordable, rapid diagnostic tests for low- and middle-income countries.

2020

Price agreement drastically lowers cost for yearly pediatric HIV treatment

CHAI and Unitaid announce a groundbreaking agreement with two pharmaceutical companies, Viatris and Macleods, to reduce by 75 percent the cost of HIV treatment for children in low- and middle-income countries. The partnership resulted in the fastest ever U.S. regulatory approval for a generic pediatric HIV drug.

CHAI and Unitaid announce a groundbreaking agreement with two pharmaceutical companies, Viatris and Macleods, to reduce by 75 percent the cost of HIV treatment for children in low- and middle-income countries. The partnership resulted in the fastest ever U.S. regulatory approval for a generic pediatric HIV drug.

2021

Partnership makes dual rapid test for syphilis and HIV available for under US$1 in over 100 countries

CHAI, MedAccess, and SD Biosensor introduce new price for point-of-care rapid diagnostic test that enables simultaneous diagnosis of syphilis and HIV in under 20 minutes from a single finger-prick sample.

CHAI, MedAccess, and SD Biosensor introduce new price for point-of-care rapid diagnostic test that enables simultaneous diagnosis of syphilis and HIV in under 20 minutes from a single finger-prick sample.

2021

Unprecedented cooperation with global oxygen suppliers increases access and paves the way to address COVID-19

Agreement brokered by Unitaid and CHAI under the COVID-19 Oxygen Emergency Taskforce sees two of the world’s largest medical oxygen suppliers, Air Liquide and Linde, each collaborate with these ACT-Accelerator partners on increased access to oxygen.

Agreement brokered by Unitaid and CHAI under the COVID-19 Oxygen Emergency Taskforce sees two of the world’s largest medical oxygen suppliers, Air Liquide and Linde, each collaborate with these ACT-Accelerator partners on increased access to oxygen.

A woman in a wheelchair plays a game. Missing Billion report launched in October.

2021

CHAI partners with 10 country governments to increase access to assistive technology

Supporting global stakeholders under the UK Aid-funded AT2030 program, CHAI completed market analyses on wheelchairs, hearing aids, prosthetics, eyeglasses, and personal digital devices to understand interventions to support access and investment opportunities.

Supporting global stakeholders under the UK Aid-funded AT2030 program, CHAI completed market analyses on wheelchairs, hearing aids, prosthetics, eyeglasses, and personal digital devices to understand interventions to support access and investment opportunities.

A woman in a wheelchair plays a game. Missing Billion report launched in October.

2022

CHAI partners with governments to screen over one million women for cervical cancer

More than 80 percent of women received appropriate treatment across the program's 10 countries, with half of the countries exceeding 90 percent treatment coverage among women who screened positive for pre-cancerous legions.

More than 80 percent of women received appropriate treatment across the program's 10 countries, with half of the countries exceeding 90 percent treatment coverage among women who screened positive for pre-cancerous legions.

  • CHAI’s first program: HIV/AIDS
  • HIV first-line agreement
  • ART program in South Africa
  • Pediatric HIV treatment
  • HIV second-line agreement
  • Expansion into malaria
  • Scale-up HIV care and treatment in South Africa
  • Effective drugs to treat malaria
  • Expansion into vaccines
  • MATCH study launch
  • Expansion into human resources for health
  • Human resources for health in Zambia
  • Long-acting reversible contraception
  • Improving severe malaria testing and treatment
  • Treating childhood diarrhea
  • Ebola response in Liberia
  • Introducing new products to treat childhood diarrhea
  • Expansion into new programs
  • Reducing mother and infant deaths in Nigeria
  • Lowering the cost of hepatitis C treatment
  • Ethiopia develops first-of-its-kind medical oxygen roadmap in Africa
  • Increasing access to cancer medications
  • Affordable single-pill HIV regimen with DTG
  • Breakthrough pricing agreement for latest diagnostic technology
  • Lowering costs for lifesaving oxygen diagnostics
  • Improving access to quality cancer treatment
  • Expansion into cervical cancer
  • Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Price agreement drastically lowers cost for yearly pediatric HIV treatment
  • Partnership makes dual rapid test for syphilis and HIV available for under US$1 in over 100 countries
  • Unprecedented cooperation with global oxygen suppliers increases access and paves the way to address COVID-19
  • CHAI partners with 10 country governments to increase access to assistive technology
  • CHAI partners with governments to screen over one million women for cervical cancer
  • 2002
  • 2003
  • 2004
  • 2005
  • 2007
  • 2009
  • 2010
  • 2011
  • 2012
  • 2013
  • 2014
  • 2015
  • 2016
  • 2017
  • 2018
  • 2019
  • 2020
  • 2021
  • 2022

Senior Leadership

Dr. Neil Buddy Shah

Chief Executive Officer

Rasha Hibri, CHAI CFO, smiles into the camera.
Rasha Hibri

Chief Financial Officer

Joshua Chu

Executive Vice President, Vaccines and Non-Communicable Diseases

Dr. David Ripin

Executive Vice President, Infectious Diseases; Chief Science Officer

Dr. Owens Wiwa

Executive Vice President, West and Central Africa; Country Director – Nigeria

Program, Regional, and Operations Leadership

Dr. Mphu Ramatlapeng

Executive Vice President – Implementation

Zachary Katz
Zachary Katz

Vice President of Essential Medicines

Gerald Macharia

Vice President, East and Southern Africa; Country Director - Kenya

Harkesh Dabas

Managing Director, William J Clinton Foundation (India) (CHAI Affiliate)

Dang Ngo

Vice President - Southeast Asia, Pacific; Country Director - Vietnam

Photo of Carlos Uribe
Carlos Uribe

Regional Director, LATAM

Photo of Dr. Rahel Belete
Dr. Rahel Belete

Country Director – Ethiopia

Photo of Corina Milic
Corina Milic

Acting Director of Communications

Joan Muasa

Senior Director of Institutional Relations and Program Review

Charles Hancock

Director, Global Operations

Katherine Pela DeMarco

Projects and Operations lead

Photo of Stephanie Zierten
Stephanie Zierten

Senior Director, Legal and Compliance

Photo portrait for a woman
Jessie Jackson

Senior Human Resources Director

Board of Directors

President William J. Clinton

Board Member, Chair Emeritus & Co-Founder

Alan D. Schwartz

Chair of the Board & Chair of the Executive Committee

Raymond G. Chambers

Vice Chair of the Board

Bruce Lindsey

Board Member

Robert W. Selander

Board Member & Chair of the Finance Committee

Chelsea Clinton

Vice Chair of the Board & Co-Chair of HR Committee

Aliko Dangote

Board Member

Ann Veneman

Board Member

Dr. Mark Dybul

Board Member

Joy Phumaphi

Board Member & Co-Chair of HR Committee

Luis Alberto Moreno

Board Member

Ophelia Dahl

Board Member

Richard Zall

Board Secretary and Legal Counsel

Timothy A.A. Stiles

Chair of the Finance Committee’s Audit Subcommittee

Our Leadership Teams

Senior Leadership

Dr. Neil Buddy Shah

Chief Executive Officer

Trained as a physician and development economist, Dr. Neil Buddy Shah is an award-winning social entrepreneur, CEO, and global health funder who is passionate about making global health efforts as impactful as possible.

Dr. Shah was previously the Managing Director of GiveWell, a research and funding organization that directs hundreds of millions of dollars per year to programs in global health and development. GiveWell seeks to identify and fund the most cost-effective ways to save lives, and has recently emerged as one of the world’s largest private funders in global health.

Dr. Shah was previously co-founder, CEO and now Board Chair of IDinsight, a global development data analytics and advisory firm with offices across Africa, Asia, and the US. At IDinsight, he helped pioneer the practical application of cutting-edge data and impact measurement tools such as randomized controlled trials, machine learning and results-based financing mechanisms to improve the impact of life-saving and antipoverty programs across Africa and Asia. Buddy worked previously at the World Bank and MIT’s Jameel Poverty Action Lab.

Buddy holds an AB in economics from Harvard, an MD with special distinction in global health policy from Einstein College of Medicine in New York, and an MPA in International Development from Harvard Kennedy School.

Dr. Shah serves on the Boards of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Private Foundations Board Constituency); the Institute to End Mass Incarceration at Harvard Law School; Educate Girls; Giving Green; and IDinsight. He is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, has served as guest faculty at Harvard Kennedy School and Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, and is a former Echoing Green Fellow and Forbes’ 30 under 30 Social Entrepreneur. He has lived and worked in India, Cambodia, Uganda and the United States.

Rasha Hibri, CHAI CFO, smiles into the camera.

Rasha Hibri

Chief Financial Officer

Rasha Hibri is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc (CHAI). She joined CHAI in 2020 and oversees CHAI’s global finance strategy and global financial operations including Budgets and Reporting, Business System Applications, Contracts, the International Controller’s Office (including Accounting, Payroll, and Accounts Payable), Internal Audit and Risk Management, Treasury, and Office Administration.

Prior to joining CHAI, Ms. Hibri was the CFO for India, Middle East and Africa for Allergan. In 2019, she was assigned as Acting Country Manager for India. From 2015 to 2018, Ms. Hibri was the CFO for the Middle East and North Africa region at British Telecoms Global Services. She has also worked as CFO for Eli Lilly and Company in the region and as Finance Director for Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD), where she led growth initiatives and assessed customer needs, in addition to optimizing resource efficiency and effectiveness.

Joshua Chu

Executive Vice President, Vaccines and Non-Communicable Diseases

Joshua Chu is Executive Vice President of Vaccines, Non-Communicable Diseases and Disability at the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI). In this capacity, he spearheads efforts to enhance immunization coverage, widen access to non-communicable disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment and expand the use of assistive technologies for individuals with disabilities. Joshua has played a pivotal role in the inception and development of these critical global programs at CHAI.

Mr. Chu joined CHAI in 2009. Joshua’s journey at CHAI began as the Deputy Country Director in Nigeria, where he orchestrated an impressive expansion of vital program in vaccines, sexual and reproductive health, essential treatments for diarrhea, and human resources for health. Subsequently, he assumed the position of Regional Director for Southeast Asia, where he successfully facilitated the development of new programs across multiple countries, including Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, and Vietnam.

Prior to his tenure at CHAI, Joshua held various key roles, including the management of Singapore Airlines’ multi-billion dollar investment and fuel hedging portfolio. His extensive professional experience includes working in China, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Singapore, the United States, and Zambia.

Mr. Chu obtained his BS in Economics and BA in Middle Eastern and Asian studies (summa cum laude) from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He later obtained a Mphil in Development Studies (with distinction) from St Johns’ College, University of Cambridge, as a Maxis scholar.

Dr. David Ripin

Executive Vice President, Infectious Diseases; Chief Science Officer

Dr. David Ripin is the Executive Vice President of Infectious Diseases, and the Chief Science Officer at the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI). In these roles, he oversees CHAI’s work on increasing access to medicines and diagnostics for HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, and other disease areas through the use of sustainable market interventions. CHAI’s Access program has successfully implemented agreements with pharmaceutical companies to lower the price of key drugs and diagnostics by up to 80 percent, among other achievements. He also oversees the strategy and work of CHAI’s Malaria program.

Dr. Ripin joined CHAI in 2007. Prior to assuming his current role, he led CHAI’s Pharmaceutical Sciences Team, which conducts research and development work. These efforts focus on reducing the cost of key drugs through recommending formulation, manufacturing process, and sourcing improvements, as well as conducting the transfer of these processes to manufacturing partners.

Dr. Ripin is actively involved in setting international priorities for HIV drug optimization work, including organizing the Conference on Antiretroviral Drug Optimization in 2009. Before joining CHAI, he worked at Pfizer, Inc. for 10 years as part of the research and development group, focusing on the commercialization and manufacturing of drug candidates.

Dr. Ripin received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Asian Studies from the Washington University in St. Louis and obtained his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Harvard University.

Dr. Owens Wiwa

Executive Vice President, West and Central Africa; Country Director – Nigeria

Dr. Owens Wiwa is an Executive Vice President, Regional Director of West and Central Africa and the Country Director in Nigeria for the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI). He joined CHAI in 2007. Dr. Wiwa heads CHAI’s Nigeria office and plays a leadership role in health policy development and implementation at the Federal and State levels.

From 1998 to 2007, Dr. Wiwa worked with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto, designing and leading research projects that focused on infectious diseases (especially HIV), and community and mental health in Africa and Nigeria. Prior to CHAI, Dr Wiwa worked extensively as a physician in rural Nigeria and as a human and environmental rights activist with organizations such as Sierra Club and Amnesty International.

Dr. Wiwa has an MPH from Johns Hopkins University and an MB BCH from the University of Calabar.

Program Operations and Regional Leadership

Dr. Mphu Ramatlapeng

Executive Vice President – Implementation

Dr. Mphu Keneiloe Ramatlapeng is Executive Vice President for Implementation at the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI). In this role, Dr. Ramatlapeng leads CHAI’s HIV/AIDS, TB, and Health Financing strategies and works closely with global partners and government leaders to drive transformational change in these program areas.

Prior to joining CHAI in 2012, Dr. Ramatlapeng served as Minister of Health and Social Welfare of Lesotho from 2007 to mid-2012, leading the overall clinical, technical, and financial management of the Ministry. In this role, she was a champion for some of Lesotho’s significant health achievements, including reducing the transmission of HIV from parents to their children. Under her leadership, in 2010 the Ministry introduced an innovative package to support mothers who cannot return to clinics to receive the basic services they need to stay healthy and give birth to HIV-negative children.

Dr. Ramatlapeng was born in Lesotho, studied medicine at Kharkov Medical School in Ukraine, and later obtained a Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University. After completing her education she returned to Lesotho and worked in a number of roles across the public and private sectors. From 2005 to 2006, Dr. Ramatlapeng served as Country Director for the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative in Lesotho, bringing her extensive experience in pharmaceutical supply and management.

Dr. Ramatlapeng has held a number of Board Member positions over her career. Most recently, she was Vice Chair of the Board for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria from 2011 to 2013. She has also served as a member on boards of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, the Stop TB Partnership, and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics. Throughout her career, Dr. Ramatlapeng has also been a leading advocate for women in business; as a part of these efforts, she served as a founding Board Member of Women in Business in Lesotho.

Zachary Katz

Zachary Katz

Vice President of Essential Medicines

Zachary Katz is the Vice President of Essential Medicines, and leads the team focused on improving care and treatment for diarrhea and pneumonia, which are among the leading causes of mortality for children under five years old. The Essential Medicines team is also leading work on access to oxygen therapy to drastically reduce over 825,000 hypoxemia-related deaths annually.

Mr. Katz joined CHAI in 2006 to open its office in Papua New Guinea, spearheading efforts to support the launch of a national pediatric HIV treatment program. He then led the CHAI office in Cambodia and took on regional management in Southeast Asia. In 2010, he took over the Laboratory Services Team, focusing on the availability of point-of-care diagnostics to diagnose and manage HIV and tuberculosis and contributing to landmark price negotiations for HIV viral load testing. Between 2016 and 2020, Mr. Katz was the inaugural Chief Access Officer at the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) where he was responsible for the organization’s full portfolio of delivery-oriented work across multiple diseases, governments, and partners.

Mr. Katz holds a BA in Geology from Carleton College and a Master’s in Public Administration from the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at New York University. Mr. Katz and his family are based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Gerald Macharia

Vice President, East and Southern Africa; Country Director - Kenya

Gerald Macharia is a Vice President, the Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, and the Country Director in Kenya for the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI). He joined CHAI in 2005 as Country Director for Kenya, starting up the CHAI Kenya office before taking on the additional regional leadership role in 2010. As Regional Director, his responsibilities include overseeing operations in Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Mr. Macharia began his career in the private sector in marketing management with a number of multi-national corporations. He spent three years working in global marketing with the Colgate Palmolive company before entering the financial services sector and serving as CEO of Faulu Kenya, one of East Africa’s largest microfinance institutions. During his time with Faulu Kenya, Mr. Macharia grew the organization from a small NGO program to one of the region’s best and most profitable microfinance in a period of five years. Mr. Macharia is credited with innovative work with the Vodafone Group to design and pilot the world-famous and award-winning M-Pesa money transfer system that has blazed the way for mobile money systems throughout the world; he helped pilot and refine the system towards its successful rollout in Kenya. He also helped to float Africa’s first microfinance corporate bond on the Nairobi stock exchange in 2005, raising US$7 million for the expansion of Faulu Kenya’s microfinance business.

Mr. Macharia graduated magna cum laude from Kenyatta University, and earned a postgraduate diploma in marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing in the UK, as well as a MBA from the Edinburgh Business School in the UK and an additional MBA from Kenya’s Moi University School of Business & Economics. He is also an alumnus of Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business Program of Strategy & Organization.

Mr. Macharia has previously served as the Vice President of the Association of Microfinance Institutions in Kenya, board member of the Africa Microfinance Network, Governing Council, member of the Kenya Institute of Management and the Marketing Society of Kenya and is a life member of the Institute of Economic Affairs in Kenya. He also serves as board member of Kenya’s government-owned Micro Enterprise Support Program Trust.

Harkesh Dabas

Managing Director, William J Clinton Foundation (India) (CHAI Affiliate)

Harkesh Dabas is Managing Director, William J Clinton Foundation (India) (CHAI Affiliate). In this role, he provides leadership and strategic direction to CHAI operations and partnerships in India. Previously, Mr. Dabas led CHAI’s Access program efforts in new initiatives and organizational engagement with manufacturers of generic ARVs as well as other drug and vaccines.

Prior to joining CHAI, Mr. Dabas served in the Indian Navy for over two decades in various leadership positions, including Joint Director of Operations at the Ministry of Defence, where he was responsible for the development and execution of strategic plans and policies. He also commanded an anti-submarine warfare corvette and served as the Secretary to the Commanders’ Conference, the Navy’s highest strategic decision-making body, wherein he was involved in the development of strategy across a broad spectrum of issues.

Mr. Dabas holds post-graduate degrees in Nautical Science and Operations, a Masters in Defence and Strategic Studies, and a Masters in Business Administration from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Dang Ngo

Vice President - Southeast Asia, Pacific; Country Director - Vietnam

Dang Ngo is the Vice President for Southeast Asia Pacific, overseeing operations and strategic priorities in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam, and covering initiatives including HIV, TB, malaria, hepatitis, vaccines, family planning, health system strengthening, and health information systems. Mr. Ngo is also CHAI’s Country Director in Vietnam, leading a high-performing team to significant successes including scaling up of HIV treatment coverage for children from 9 percent in 2006 to 86 percent in 2015 (one of the highest in the world), introducing improved diagnostic systems such as point-of-care and early infant diagnosis of HIV, introducing TB prevention programs that are dramatically reducing incidences, strengthening procurement and supply chain management systems to ensure drugs reach patients, and designing and implementing innovative SMS- and web-based health management information systems that are meaningfully improving patient referral systems and service delivery, among others.

Mr. Ngo joined CHAI in 2008 as a Program Coordinator in Vietnam and assumed the Deputy Country Director and Country Director roles in 2010 and 2011, respectively. He is also a member of CHAI’s Operations Leadership Team.

Prior to joining CHAI, Mr. Ngo developed a landmine risk prediction model using statistical tools that is changing the UN Mine Action Centre’s approach to reducing landmine incidences in Afghanistan. Additionally, he led the development of market-leading enterprise-level educational tools and websites to link students to universities. He is also an award-winning photographer.

Mr. Ngo earned a Master of Public Health degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the Global Disease Epidemiology and Control Program.

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Carlos Uribe

Regional Director, LATAM

Carlos Uribe-Echeverria is Regional Operations Director of Latin America and the Caribbean. He joined CHAI in 2017, and provides operational and strategic leadership to the region to the governments of Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala, and Panama on malaria elimination, COVID-19, and oxygen systems strengthening while also working closely with other global and country teams across all levels of the organization.

Mr. Uribe began his career in the private sector working with several industrial and service companies in Europe, holding different managerial positions in logistics, marketing, business development, strategy, and general management. After more than 15 years, Mr. Uribe moved from his home country of Spain to Panama where he started his career in the international cooperation field as Country Representative for John Snow, Inc. (JSI), a global public health consulting organization, providing technical and operational assistance to the Ministries of Health in Mesoamerica to strengthen the supply chain management and health commodity security in different projects founded by USAID.

Mr. Uribe holds a BSc. in Mechanical Engineering and a MSc. in Industrial Organization from the University of Navarre, a Postgraduate Certificate in Procurement and Logistics from AERCE (Asociación Española de Profesionales de Compras, Contratación y Aprovisionamientos), and a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration from IESE Business School, University of Navarre.

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Dr. Rahel Belete

Country Director – Ethiopia

Rahel Belete is the Country Director of the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) Ethiopia who is responsible to lead and manage the Ethiopia office, strategically aligning the country’s programs with the overall CHAI program strategy, programmatic and financial planning/reporting, fundraising, and monitoring and evaluation efforts for all work areas. She manages relationships across all stakeholders ranging from Government leadership, Ministry technical experts, in country partners, to global counterparts within CHAI and donors.

Rahel joined CHAI in 2012 and prior to assuming her current role, she served as Senior Deputy Country Director in Ethiopia. During her tenure she diversified the donor mix, expanded programs scope to include new thematic areas such as essential treatment for diarrhea, oxygen and breast cancer. She has developed systems, procedures, protocols, provided leadership and management to the organization and align the strategic direction along with the government strategic priorities.

Prior to joining CHAI, she worked for Marie Stopes International- Tanzania for five years as a Deputy Country Director and spent eight years with DKT Ethiopia, leading the marketing and communication innovations of the varied social marketing programs and products.

Rahel holds a PhD from Bulacan State University of the Philippines in Business Administration, Masters in Organizational Leadership from Azusa Pacific University, California, MBA and BA from Pune University in India.

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Corina Milic

Acting Director of Communications

Corina Milic is the acting director of Communications at the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI). She leads external and internal communications for the organization. Prior to joining CHAI, she was an award-winning journalist in Canada before spending close to a decade focused on digital user experience and product management at Microsoft.

Joan Muasa

Senior Director of Institutional Relations and Program Review

Joan Muasa is a Senior Director, responsible for strategic planning, institutional donor management, and coordination of the Clinton Health Access Initiative’s (CHAI) Program Leadership Team and program reviews. Prior to assuming her current position, Ms. Muasa served as Director of Budgeting and Reporting. During her tenure in that role, she collaborated to form new finance and accounting departments; established financial policies, tools, processes, and practices that aided the development of CHAI’s revenue recognition and allocation, multi-year and annual financial planning, and management reporting processes; improved donor compliance; and restructured the program cost allocation process.

Prior to joining CHAI, Ms. Muasa spent 12 years at Oxfam (Oxfam UK and Oxfam America, Inc.) as a senior finance and operations director. While at Oxfam UK, she was instrumental in the design and implementation of the international division’s five-year strategic planning, annual programming, and business planning processes in 80 countries and also led the streamlining of restricted fund management and the decentralization of the international division’s 80 percent donor management (about 400 grants) from HQ into regional and country offices. She also served in a variety of other capacities at Oxfam. Her accomplishments include work in financial and operational management, organizational strategic and annual planning, risk management, process and systems improvements, change management, partner relations, and program evaluations.

Ms. Muasa has managed programs and lived in East and West Africa, Southeast Asia, the UK and the US. She currently serves on the boards of two charitable organizations that focus on secondary school education and vocational training of marginalized children and youth in East Africa. Ms. Muasa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Nairobi, Kenya, and is a Kenyan certified accountant. She is also an alumna of Said Business School, Oxford, UK on Strategy, Risk Management, and Organizational Change.

Charles Hancock

Director, Global Operations

Charles Hancock is the Director of Global Operations at the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI). He collaborates with CHAI leadership, country teams, and functional units to shape and implement the operations strategy, ensuring compliance, staff safety, and risk mitigation.

Charles joined CHAI in 2018 as the Operations Lead for the Global Vaccines Delivery team based in Rwanda. In 2020, he transitioned to CHAI’s safety and security team, where in 2021 he was appointed to lead strategic direction for global operations and security management systems supporting program countries and CHAI staff across the globe.

Before joining CHAI, Charles worked in risk and security advisory roles in the humanitarian and development sectors across various countries, including high-risk environments. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Edinburgh and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya.

Katherine Pela DeMarco

Projects and Operations lead

Katherine Pela DeMarco is Projects and Operations lead at the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI). She joined CHAI as a volunteer in 2008 helping the Liberia Ministry of Health draft a Global Fund HIV grant. She later joined the team full-time as the HIV Program Manager supporting grant execution to scale HIV care and treatment across the country and build ministry of health management capacity. As the Liberia country office expanded into areas of maternal and neonatal health, human resources for health, labs and supply chain, Ms. DeMarco moved into the role of Deputy Country Director. After her time in Liberia, she joined the Institutional Donor Relations team. In that role she has supported various global and country teams with their fundraising and donor compliance needs along with coordinating capacity assessments from our donors.

Prior to joining CHAI, Ms. DeMarco worked for the American Red Cross focusing on hurricane disaster preparedness and response. She then served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the same focus area in the Caribbean. She then worked for a variety of NGOs concentrating on economic development projects in Africa and the Caribbean.

Ms. DeMarco holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master’s in Public Health from Tulane University.

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Stephanie Zierten

Senior Director, Legal and Compliance

Prior to joining CHAI as CHAI’s first in-house counsel overseeing legal and compliance matters, Stephanie was Assistant Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Her legal practice at the Boston Fed focused on advising senior stakeholders on a variety of issues including corporate governance, complex transactions, cybersecurity and data privacy issues, and intellectual property matters. She also was appointed as the Bank’s Privacy Officer and the Assistant Corporate Secretary to the Bank’s Board of Directors. Throughout her career, Stephanie held other leadership positions in the government sector, including as the Deputy General Counsel at the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Information Technology Division. Stephanie began her legal career clerking at the Massachusetts Appeals Court before she joined as an associate in the intellectual property practice group of Testa, Hurwitz, & Thibeault, LLP. Stephanie holds a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law, a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Boston University, and is a registered patent attorney with the U.S.P.T.O.

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Jessie Jackson

Senior Human Resources Director

Jessie Jackson is the Senior Human Resources Director, and leads CHAI’s Global Human Resources team. She joined CHAI in 2015 after witnessing the impact of CHAI’s lifesaving work at an orphanage for children living with HIV in Vietnam.

Prior to joining CHAI, she worked for Target Corporation where she led store operations, with a focus on training, team culture, talent development and succession planning. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish and International Business and an Executive Masters of Business Administration (EMBA) from the University of Wisconsin. She is based in Boston, MA.

Board of Directors

President William J. Clinton

Board Member, Chair Emeritus & Co-Founder

Alan D. Schwartz

Chair of the Board & Chair of the Executive Committee

Raymond G. Chambers

Vice Chair of the Board

Bruce Lindsey

Board Member

Robert W. Selander

Board Member & Chair of the Finance Committee

Chelsea Clinton

Vice Chair of the Board & Co-Chair of HR Committee

Aliko Dangote

Board Member

Ann Veneman

Board Member

Dr. Mark Dybul

Board Member

Professor Dame Sally Davies

Board Member

Joy Phumaphi

Board Member & Co-Chair of HR Committee

Luis Alberto Moreno

Board Member

Ophelia Dahl

Board Member

Richard Zall

Board Secretary and Legal Counsel

Timothy A.A. Stiles

Chair of the Finance Committee’s Audit Subcommittee

Join Our Team

CHAI is looking for dynamic and self-motivated individuals who are committed to strengthening health systems around the world and expanding access to care and treatment of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other illnesses.

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