Trustees

Justin has been CEO of Spire Healthcare, the FTSE hospital group, since the end of 2017. At Spire, he has been leading a group transformation, driving up quality standards, and delivering on Spire’s partnership with the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic. Justin was appointed Chair of Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET) in December 2021 taking over from Professor Judith Ellis. He has been involved in supporting the charity in various ways since 2016, through the work of the Fraxinus Trust and by completing a 300km one day bike ride.

“I am delighted and honoured to be appointed the new Chair of THET. I was inspired by THET’s vision of connecting NHS health professionals and healthcare workers in LMICs in partnerships for mutual learning and support, and especially to help embed sustainable health infrastructures in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.”

John is currently Finance Director of St Barnabas Hospices, a charity based in Sussex.

A qualified management accountant and graduate of the University of Oxford, John has previously served as CFO or Finance Director in two NHS hospital trusts and two universities, prior to which he was Finance Director of Bupa’s international medical insurance business. He has also been a non-executive director of a publicly owned port operator.

John is married with two grown-up children and lives in Brighton.

Professor Rosalind Raine BSc, MBBS, MSc, PhD, FFPH, FMedSci is Professor and Head of the Department of Applied Health Research at UCL, a public health medicine doctor, Director of NIHR* ARC North Thames (Europe’s largest partnership of world leading applied health and care researchers) and Vice Director of NIHR Cancer Policy Research Unit.

She is recognised as a world leading applied researcher with expertise in the evaluation of major health service/ public health change and of determinants of widespread implementation of evidence based care. She integrates diverse techniques including complex data analysis and ethnography to examine the impact of health/public health interventions on health outcomes, with a particular focus on equity in health and in access to services.

Rosalind advises on health policy internationally, including collaborating with WHO on the development of measurement indicators; and has conducted research in Sarawak, Brazil and South Africa.

She is an elected member of NIHR Strategy Board; sat on the influential Lancet Commission on The Future of the NHS; chaired the UK Heads of Academic Departments of Public Health (representing Departments at over 30 universities) and sat on the HEFCE Research Excellence Framework Panel (whose recommendations inform the distribution of Government funding to UK universities).

She was elected to the internationally prestigious UK Academy of Medical Sciences, selected as an NIHR Senior Investigator and as one of the countries ‘leading edge scientists’ by NIHR. She was also selected by the British Medical Association as one of 29 national role models in academic medicine and has spearheaded innovations in teaching for front line health care/public health workers.

*NIHR is the largest health research funder in the UK

** MRC = Medical Research Council

Dr. Isioma Okolo is a UK-trained Nigerian Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, a Harvard graduate, and a passionate global health advocate committed to addressing healthcare inequalities both within and between countries. With over 13 years of comprehensive expertise spanning clinical care, research, medical education, public health, and global health policy, she has a proven record of leadership and strategic planning aimed at improving global health systems.

Having worked across four continents—Africa, the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East—Dr. Okolo’s experience bridges low-, middle-, and high-income settings. She has successfully led initiatives to improve health outcomes in resource-limited environments, combining her expertise in clinical practice with cutting-edge research and a deep understanding of the complexities of global health disparities. Her extensive international exposure makes her a driving force in building more equitable healthcare systems worldwide.

As a trustee of THET (Tropical Health and Education Trust), Dr. Okolo continues her mission to champion global health equity, leveraging her unique insights and expertise to develop impactful solutions that address healthcare access, delivery, and quality for underserved populations.

Roda Ali Ahmed is a registered nurse with over 30 years’ experience as a clinician and educator. She has a strong passion for health system strengthening and health worker capacity building. Roda has held many positions at the World Health Organization, the University of Hargeisa and Edna Adan University.

Roda has helped establish several programmes to strengthen health systems in Somaliland, including starting the first nursing and midwifery diploma programme at Edna Adan Maternity Hospital. She participated in setting up the Somaliland Nursing and Midwifery Association in 2004, holding the position of Vice President from 2004 to 2010, and helped set up the Somaliland National Health Profession Commission in 2010. She still serves as a member of the technical committee.

Roda has been involved with THET in Somaliland since 2001, and was instrumental in building the partnership between THET and King’s in 2004. She currently works as a lecturer at the University of Hargeisa.

Julia works as an Associate Professor in the School of Health and Social Care in the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science at Swansea University.

She is a mental health nurse and has a PhD in Health Science, along with extensive experience in public and patient involvement. She is interested in working with groups that experience health inequalities. Julia works extensively with Deaf communities to improve healthcare policy and practice.

Her research focus is improving mental health inequalities and increasing Deaf awareness. Julia is keen to strengthen international links and partnerships to promote learning and to support sustainable healthcare.

Elaine is a global health and international development expert with over 20 years of experience implementing HIV, health, and social inclusion programmes across Africa and Asia. She is also a well-respected international policy influencer who has helped shaped donor, UN, WHO and national governmental policies on global health financing, health system strengthening, disability inclusion and civil society engagement. Elaine played a pivotal role in shaping the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring the inclusion of persons with disabilities across these global goals and has also influenced the inclusion of marginalised populations in international commitments on universal health coverage.

Elaine has held leadership positions with a range of international NGOs, including the role of Head of Policy, Public Affairs and Campaigns at Leonard Cheshire and, earlier in her career, as Head of Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns at Sightsavers, where she developed the organisation’s policy expertise, their policy, advocacy and campaigning capacity, and established an International Advocacy Coordination Team.

Before her roles at Sightsavers and Leonard Cheshire, Elaine was responsible for establishing and leading the advocacy network Action for Global Health. During this period, she also played a key role in securing civil society representation in the International Health Partnership and influencing the focus and development of this global health donor coordination mechanism which has now evolved into the UHC2030 partnership.

Elaine is currently working as an independent global health and international development policy consultant with the aim of strengthening health and education systems so that they are inclusive and equitable for all.

Professor Valerie Fleming is a midwife and nurse who has worked in clinical or research positions globally. Her current position is Professor of Women’s Health, Liverpool John Moores University. She has a passion for improving the health of women through the provision of competent birth attendants. She also has a strong belief in  promoting the rights of health professionals within systems which often do not permit this.

Valerie’s previous roles include professorships in midwifery in Glasgow Caledonian University and Zurich University of Applied Sciences, the senior policy advisor (Chief Nurse) to the WHO European region and various clinical positions in India, New Zealand and the UK. Research has embraced a number of East African countries, as well as Latin America and Europe.

She led redevelopment of nursing and midwifery education in Kosovo after the 1999 war and in her role as Secretary General of the Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centres for Nursing and Midwifery, worked with colleagues in three of the other WHO regions to develop a package of training materials for nurse educators in the African region.

Valerie has an enthusiasm for working with people from different cultures and backgrounds and through her initial work with the International Confederation of Midwives as mentor to one of five midwives chosen for the Young Midwifery leaders’ programme, has made lasting friendships in the Central American and African regions.

In her current role she is working with colleagues in Pakistan and Kenya to extend the scope of practice of nurses and midwives.  In her spare time she uses her qualification as a canon lawyer to volunteer as an advocate for the Scottish Catholic Interdiocesan Tribunal.

BSN, RN, RM, PHN, MSc, PhD, FWACN, FGCNM

Dr.  Dennis-Antwi is a multi-skilled Ghanaian Health Promotion/Communication Expert, Midwife and Nurse with over 33 years cumulative experience locally and globally; having managed collaborative projects and programmes through public service, development work and independent consultancies in maternal and newborn health/midwifery, nursing, health systems strengthening, health systems administration and research. She has held various leadership positions in collaborative and consultancy roles.

Starting in 1989 as a Nursing Officer at the clinical milieu of Ridge Hospital-Accra. she was seconded to the Health Education Unit of   the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly in 1991    as the first Ghanaian to continue the development of the Kumasi Health Education Unit culminating into a formidable national entity called the National Health Learning Materials Centre of the Ministry of Health.  With a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing with Psychology-Legon-GH; Master’s qualification from University of Edinburgh-UK (1991), she pursued her PhD studies at De Montfort University-Leicester-UK(2003-2008) and branched into international development work serving with organisations such as Partnerships for Transforming Health Systems-Nigeria; American College of Nurse-Midwives-USA; Population Council-Ghana as well as working as a technical resource person, collaborator or consultant to myriad international organisations nationally and globally including the UN (UNFPA Ghana, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Libya, ESARO) WHO-Geneva, UNICEF, UN WOMEN), Sick-Kids-Canada, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, World Vision-Ghana, Catholic Relief Services, BASICS-GH-USAID, Jhpiego-GH etc. Overall, she has had professional exposure to over 42 countries worldwide and is a global technical speaker.

Notably, Dr. Dennis-Antwi served on a transcontinental (Africa, Asia, Latin America and Caribbean) programme in collaboration with International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) and UNFPA as the Regional Midwives Advisor for Anglophone Africa (2009-2013) for providing technical oversight to 10 African countries and (Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, Zambia) and Guyana in midwifery strengthening. Furthermore, she was selected as the Inaugural and Foundational President (2013-2018) and Acting First Rector (2013-2016) of the Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives (Specialist College with Presidential Accent), where she assiduously led efforts to establish the very successful and much sought-after postgraduate Fellowship College administratively and academically. On completing her term of office in 2018. She served as a long-term International Midwife Consultant for UNFPA- Sierra Leone where she led collaborative efforts for the development of the first ever Strategic Plan in Midwifery and Nursing and Preceptorship Policy for Clinical Competency Building and later documented the “Evolution of Midwifery from the Pre-war situation to present day Sierra Leone in 2020” among other leadership assignments. She also developed the Strategic Nursing and Midwifery Plans/Policies for Ghana and first ever for Zambia and Libya. Her works have been published in peer reviewed journals, bibliographies and grey documents. Her current research work is on “Application of the WHO Framework for Quality Midwifery Education in 5 countries”: A WHO-Geneva Assignment with attachment to Sierra Leone.

Dr. Dennis-Antwi is a multiple award recipient. The most recent (May 2021) being her induction into the MAIDEN Hall of Fame by the Ministry of Health-Ghana for her contribution to midwifery and nursing development locally and internationally and especially for her exemplary and pioneering leadership in the establishment of Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives (GCNM).

Dr. Dennis-Antwi has served as member of Board of Directors of global organisations such as ICM; Tropical Health Education Trust -UK; Ipas -USA and locally with Sickle Cell Foundation-GH; GCNM and Centre for Health Development and Research (CEHDAR). Currently, Dr. Dennis-Antwi also leads as the President and CEO of CEHDAR; a Ghana-based international Non-Profit Organisation with a goal for global health workforce capacity building, systems strengthening, research and advocacy among others.

Titilola Banjoko is a healthcare professional by background working as an Executive Director in the National Health Service. She has over 23 years professional experience working with key strategic stakeholders engaged in Africa’s development. She has taken up numerous advocacy and advisory roles on the issue of capacity building in Africa and she is an actively engaged member of the African Diaspora.

She is a regular commentator and analyst on African related news and events and serves on the council of the Royal African Society, Chair Board of Trustees, Foundation for Women’s Health Research and Development (FORWARD), Chair Board of Trustees, International Rescue Committee UK (IRC-UK)  and a Fellow of the Nigerian Leadership Initiative.