ALLIANCE FOR HEALTHY COMMUNITIES - Key Persons
Mr. Abajobir has a wide range of experience in senior-level leadership and management positions with international NGOs. He has led and managed programs in HIV/AIDs, sexual and reproductive health, malaria, tuberculosis, eye health, disability, inclusive education, health systems strengthening and micro-finance, among other topics.
Most recently, Mr. Abajobir served as the Ethiopian Country Manager for the Australian based Fred Hollows Foundation, where he led and managed the country's eye health program from its inception to its scale-up, with an annual budget of over $15 million USD, funded jointly by USAID, DfID and the Australian DFAT. Prior to this, Mr. Abajobir served as the Country Director for Drew Cares International in Rwanda, the Country Director for Project HOPE in Mozambique and the Program and Project Manager for Save the Children in Mozambique. He has also provided leadership, management and technical oversight to an Africa Region HIV/AIDS program based in Malawi, and served as a technical specialist for global programs based in the U.S.
Mr. Abajobir holds a Masters in Public Health from the University of Leeds in the UK, a Diploma in Health Promotion from the University of Tampere in Finland, and a Bachelor of Science in Life Science from Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia.
Job Titles:
- Health Communications Specialist
Carène works as the Health Communications Specialist, where she works to design and implement AHC's communications strategy to support the mission of empowering the healthcare workforce and equitably improve the health outcomes. Carène also participates in grant writing and resource mobilization activities as well as generating educational messages for various public audiences.
Job Titles:
- HR and Operations Director
As HR and Operations Director, Dennis ensures that the relationship between AHC and all staff is managed within a clear and appropriate framework. Dennis also coordinates AHC's back-office operations to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the Administrative, Finance and Program Departments.
Prior to joining AHC, Dennis served as Finance Manager and later Human Resources and Finance Director at Drew Cares International in Rwanda, from 2010 to 2017. Dennis has held numerous positions at leading companies in Rwanda, including as Senior Tax consultant at KPS Associates, Head of Audit Unit at Rwanda Revenue Authority, Head of Personnel and Administrative Unit for the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Rwanda, and Lead Personnel Development for the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Rwanda.
Dennis graduated from the University of Rwanda with a Bachelor's degree in Management, as well as from Makerere University in Uganda with a degree in Economic Policy Management. In November 2018, Dennis will earn his Master of Business Administration and Finance from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.
Job Titles:
- Assistant
- Clinical Psychologist
- Member of the BOARD of DIRECTORS
- TECHNICAL ADVISOR
- Clinical Psychologist, Assistant Clinical Professor
Dr. Charles L. Hilliard is a clinical psychologist, Assistant Clinical Professor, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, and Clinical Director of SPECTRUM Community Services and Research, a mental health center in South Los Angeles serving individuals living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.
Dr. Hilliard has dedicated himself to developing, establishing and leading HIV prevention, treatment and care programs in South Los Angeles, Rwanda and Zambia, particularly through the twin principles of capacity building and developing local leadership. For the past 23 years he has focused his clinical and research activities on mental health, HIV and under resourced communities, including the incarcerated, post-incarcerated, men who have sex with men, and adolescent girls and young women.
Job Titles:
- Secretary of the BOARD of DIRECTORS
- Research Fellow
Dr. Orikiiriza also works as a research fellow associated with the Infectious Diseases Institute, College of Health Sciences, at Makerere University, as well as with the Umea Infectious Diseases Institute in Sweden.
As the Deputy Clinical Director of AHC, Dr. Maguy Mbabazi assists the Clinical Services Director in coordinating and supervising the HIV prevention, treatment and care program's clinical activities, as well as provides capacity building for health care professionals across a variety of backgrounds.
Previously, Dr. Mbabazi served as the Deputy Clinical Director at Drew Cares International, where she worked to close the gap in access to HIV prevention measures for vulnerable and target populations. In this role, she also helped increase antiretroviral therapy coverage for target populations and HIV positive pregnant women. As a medical doctor, Dr. Mbabazi has supervised, trained and worked with patients in Rwanda's Kibagabaga and Rutongo district hospitals in the pediatric, gynecology, and internal medicine departments. She has also volunteered with organizations providing surgical care and empowerment to women affected by fistula.
Dr. Mbabazi holds a Master's of Science in Global Health Delivery from the University of Global Health Equity, and a Bachelor's degree in Surgery and Medicine from University of Rwanda.
Esperance works as a Logistics Assistant where she supports the Human Resource & Operations Director by performing Reception, Administrative and Logistics tasks. Before joining AHC, Esperance worked with the University of Rwanda, and the local administration as a Health Practitioner. Esperance worked to advance health promotion in different communities, health facilities through health education and promotion of hygiene and sanitation awareness and practices. Esperance earned her bachelor's degree in Public Health and Environmental Health Sciences from the University of Rwanda.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Services Director
As the Director of Clinical Services at AHC, Eugene Rugira, MD, coordinates all clinical aspects of the HIV prevention, care and treatment program. Using data and behavior analysis for decision making, Dr. Rugira ensures activities are adapted to the needs of AHC's clients.
Prior to joining AHC, Dr. Rugira worked as the Prevention Senior Officer at the Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC), where he focused on biomedical HIV prevention interventions such voluntary medical male circumcisions (VMMC), early infant medical circumcision (EIMC) and Prevention with Positives (PwP).
Eugene Sangano, MBA, MSc, is the lead Co-Founder and the inaugural Executive Director of Alliance for Healthy Communities. A global health leader with over 14 years of experience in sub-Saharan Africa, Eugene has held numerous managerial roles in program development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, as well as in the general management of programs and technical hands-on work. Eugene also serves as Principal Investigator/Project Director to the U.S. DOD HIV Prevention Program in the Rwandan Defence Forces.
Prior to joining AHC, Eugene worked with Drew Cares International in Rwanda since 2007 and served as the Country Director from 2013 to 2017. Previously, Eugene worked at Population Service International from 2004 to 2007.
Eugene holds a Master of Business Administration from The Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands, a Master of Science in Global Healthy Delivery from the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda, and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Rwanda (formerly known as the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology).
Fidèle works as AHC Driver, where he works with all staff to provide transportation to keep the program moving. In addition to that, Fidèle provides transportation for equipment needed for AHC's daily operations. Before joining AHC, Fidèle worked as the primary driver for PSI and SFH for more than 10 years.
Florence works as an Senior Accountant, where she supports the Director of Finance in preparing the organization's budget, ensuring finances are used according to the budget, as well as issuing payments to external vendors.
Prior to joining AHC, Florence supported the Finance Department at Drew Cares International in Rwanda.
Florence earned a Bachelor in Business Administration and Finance from the University of Rwanda, College of Business and Economics.
Jean Claude Masabo works as AHC's primary driver, where he provides reliable transportation to help keep critical programs moving. Beyond staff and equipment transportation, Jean Claude also supports other office messenger work.
Monique works as AHC's HIV/AIDs Prevention Coordinator, where she primarily focuses on psycho-social support of people living with HIV and prevention activities including positive behavior change communication. She also spearheads AHC's Anti-AIDs Clubs, which aims to sensitize and mobilize communities to increase HIV related knowledge, reduce sexual risk behavior and change overall attitudes for healthier living.
Prior to joining AHC, Monique was the HIV/AIDS Prevention Coordinator for Drew Cares International in Rwanda since 2011. Earlier in her career, Monique worked as an Investigator at Family Health International and Care International supporting their family planning and gender-based violence programs.
Monique earned a Bachelor's degree in Social Work Studies and a Master of Science in Clinical Psychology and Therapy from the University of Rwanda.
Mrs. Mtume has over 45 years of experience in planning, implementing and administering safety net programs. She is the retired Co-Founder and Chief Financial and Operations Officer of SHIELDS for Families, a 27-year-old nonprofit serving families in South Los Angeles, as well as the co-founder to three community clinics and three social service agencies in the U.S. She also served as a Community Instructor at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science for seven years. Currently, Mrs. Mtume works as a Community Engagement Advisor on an e-cigarette research study and a project aiming to imbed smoking cessation services in county medical and mental health clinics in Los Angeles. She also serves as a national mentor for SAMHSA's Women's Addiction Services Leadership Institute, mentoring women across the nation. In 2012, Mrs. Mtume received the Coalition of Mental Health Professionals "Maya Angelou Award" for inspirational leadership in community health care and for working to eliminate health care disparities. She was awarded the California Black Women's Health Project 2012 "Women Who Dared: Our Legacy and Our Future Award" for leadership in the field of women's health. Most recently, in 2017, she was honored with the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Theta Alpha Omega Pearl Foundation Award for Community Service in the Areas of Health and Education. Mrs. Mtume holds a Masters in Health Sciences and Safety Studies from California State University at Los Angeles, as well as a Masters in Marital and Family Therapy, with a focus on African American families, from Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena, California.
Job Titles:
- Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Specialist
Sam works as AHC's Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Specialist(MELS), where he supports activities related to the collection and management of patient data, developing monitoring and evaluation strategies and plans, supporting program implementation, including documenting lessons learned and feedback gathered from M&E. He supports the creation of new qualitative and quantitative monitoring and evaluation tools for AHC. He is responsible for aggregating data to be reported to donors, partners, and the Government of Rwanda agencies. Prior joining AHC, Sam worked as Quality Assurance officer for 3 years at Britam Insurance Company, where he worked with the medical section of the organization to provide technical and strategic support in designing and implementation of medical insurance schemes for the organization, including scheme funds management through health financing strategies to improve healthcare coverage and efficiency. He worked and supported healthcare providers in Rwanda and in the region to serve Britam clients and conducted regular membership education for organizations enrolled in the medical cover. Previously, Sam also was part of the research team that conducted the first-ever Rwanda National Oral Health Survey 2016, a research collaboration between the Ministry of Health of Rwanda, University of Rwanda, Tufts University and Harvard university schools of dental medicine to determine the burden oral diseases in Rwanda. Sam holds a Bachelor of Science degree with Honors in Dentistry from the University of Rwanda and a Master of Science in Global Health Delivery from the University of Global Health Equity.