Global Management Committee

Sione is the Executive Director of the Health Promotion Forum of New Zealand (HPF). At the global level, he is the President of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE), and the founder and Co-Chair of the IUHPE Global Working Group on Waiora Planetary Health and Human Wellbeing. Under Sione’s leadership, HPF successfully co-hosted the 23rd World Conference on Health Promotion in Rotorua in 2019 with IUHPE. He is also a member of the steering committee of the Planetary Health Alliance (PHA).

With more than 30 years of experience in leadership and management in the education and health sectors in Aotearoa New Zealand, and at the international level, Sione is an educator, a writer and public health leader. His areas of interest in health promotion include planetary health, determinants of health, human rights, and Indigenous knowledge.

In recognition of his significant contributions to health promotion and public health at the national and international levels, Sione was awarded the 2019 New Zealand Public Health Champion award by the Public Health Association of New Zealand.

H.E. Dr. Rashed Alsuwaidi | Distinguished leader in the development of Abu Dhabi’s healthcare sector

H.E. Dr. Rashed Alsuwaidi is the Director General of the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre (ADPHC).

With over 21 years of experience in the healthcare sector both inside and outside the UAE, he has held numerous positions, significantly enhancing his expertise in medical management and specialised healthcare services.

He specialised in ophthalmology with a focus on the retina from the University of Cologne, Germany. Throughout his career, he has held various medical and administrative positions, most notably as the Acting Director General of the Healthcare Regulatory Sector at the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH).

Dr. Rashed played a key role in managing several strategic projects in the healthcare sector, such as developing the master plan for the workforce in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and developing medical education programs, which has contributed to increasing the number of Emirati medical personnel in the Emirate.

These projects have contributed to enhancing healthcare quality, ensuring integrated services focused on continuous improvement, elevated regulatory standards and patient safety. They have fostered a culture of excellence across the Emirate’s healthcare ecosystem, which comprises four key areas vital to strengthening the sector:

1. Healthcare Quality:Ensures continuous monitoring of compliance of health facilities licensed to operate in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi with laws, regulations and standards
2. Healthcare Licensing and Medical Education:Focuses on continuous planning and monitoring to ensure the highest standards are upheld in healthcare delivery and professional accountability
3. International Patient Care:Ensures the necessary support to patients for treatment abroad, including their safety and providing them with seamless, high-quality treatment
4. Health Life Sciences:Promotes cutting-edge medical research and fosters innovation to further drive the advancement of the healthcare sector

Under Dr. Rashed Alsuwaidi’s strategic vision and extensive expertise, Abu Dhabi’s healthcare sector continues to evolve, delivering world-class services that meet the highest international standards.

Stephan Van den Broucke is professor of Health Psychology at the UC Louvain, Belgium. His research expertise includes public health psychology, health promotion, health literacy, patient education, accident prevention, and public health capacity building. He has supervised a large number of national and international research projects, over 20 PhD projects, and more than a hundred master thesis studies; authored over 150 scientific publications; and taught students and health professionals in Europe, North and Latin America, Africa and Asia. Prof. Van den Broucke has served as an evaluator for research projects submitted to the European Commission and to research foundations in Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland and Québec, Canada. He participated in accreditation committees for training and research programs in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Denmark, and gave policy advice to authoritative bodies on public health in Belgium, the European Commission, the Sultanate of Oman, and the Open Science Foundation, as well as the World Health Organisation and the European Food Safety Authority. He is an elected Board member of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE); Vice-President elect of the International Health Literacy Association; and member of the Scientific Advisory Group of the Asian Health Literacy Association. He is also president of the HealthNest consortium for health literacy in Belgium.

H.E Dr. Omniyat Mohammed Al Hajeri is Executive director of Community health sector in Abu Dhabi Public Health Center. Specialized in the field of public health and leadership, she holds roles as consultant diabetes, endocrinology and metabolic diseases; University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine (2011-2014); Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Member of the Board of Directors (from 2021 till now). Other assignments include : Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company, Member of the Board of Directors from 2016 till 2019; Board Member of the Academy of Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Women’s Sport, 2012 till now; Abu Dhabi Media Company, Board Member 2014-2016. Awards: Awarded the Chairman of The Executive Council Medal – the category of Best Executive Director in 2013 in addition to more than 25 academic awards and medals and more than 10 other recognition awards. She holds a PhD in Public Health and Leadership at Johns Hopkins University (2020), a Master’s Degree in Security Studies, Strategy and Resource Management from the National Defense College (2015), a Master of Public Health in Health Care Management and Leadership JHSPH Bloomberg School of Public Health-May (2011) and MB, BCH, BAO, LRCPS & NUI, the Royal College of Surgeons- Ireland (1999). Membership of the Royal College of Physicians MRCP- Ireland (2001). DrPH in Health Care Management and Leadership JHSPH Bloomberg School of Public Health ongoing.

Dr. Shereena K. Al Mazrouei is Director, Health promotion & Public health programs, at Abu Dhabi Public Health Center. She is a Medical Doctor by background, graduated from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) / UAE University in Al Ain (June 2003), MPH (UAEU), as well as completed Harvard Medical School Global Clinical Scholars Training (GCSRT) Program (July 2013-June 2014)- Epidemiology concentration. She joint DOH in 2006 and led multiple programs such as the introduction and first implementation of the HPV vaccine in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi; congenital heart diseases screening of the newborn using pulse Oximetry; My Health Coach application in addition to other programs. Worked and participated in forming the policies and standards related to maternal and child health in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Currently leading the Health promotion & public health programs department/Abu Dhabi Public Health center, leading multiple Public health programs – public health training, research, stakeholder management and health promotion and member of the Local research COVID-19 committee, as well as COVID-19 taskforce in ADPHC.

Dr. Aysha Ibrahim Al Dhaheri is a Section Head in Health Promotion Section since 2015, Department of Health Promotion at Abu Dhabi Public Health Center and Department of Health Abu Dhabi. She holds a Bachelor degree in Medicine & general surgery (MBBS), in 2002 and a Master degree in Public Health (MPH), 2014, from UAEU. As well, Certified Public Health Professionals (CPH) from the National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE), she had about 19 years of experience with lots of achievements in public health. Technically, led the 9th International Society for Physical Activity & Health (ISPAH 2022) that held for the first time in the middle east. Played a major role in COVID19 crisis advocacy, awareness and volunteers management (2020- 2021). Other assignements: Advisory Board member for Graduate Programs (PhD and MSc) of the Department of Nutrition and Health (DNH), College of Medicine and Health Sciences at the UAEU; Advisory Board member of Master in public health in Zayed university & Abu Dhabi university ; A member of Al Nukbah program under the Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau in the Department of Culture & Tourism; Has been acting as lecturer in the College of Medicine & Health Sciences – UAE University for the past 12 years.

Dr Mumtaz Meeran is a lead Health Promotion Specialist at the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre (ADPHC) since 2020. Her current role focusses on physical activity, workplace wellness and raising awareness of key public health priorities aimed at improving health literacy, lowering non-communicable disease burden and improving quality of life. As the physical activity lead, she played a crucial role in the organization of the very successful 9th International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH) congress held in October 2022.

Prior to this, Mumtaz worked across several NHS trusts and local authorities in London, United Kingdom covering a wide portfolio ranging from maternal and child health, children’s public health, cancer screening, risk assessment and prevention programs and end of life care. She holds master’s degrees in public health (MSc) and Nutrition (MSc) from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and King’s College London respectively. She holds a full General Medical Council registration with licence to practise in the UK and has published work in journals on barriers to cancer screening uptake in ethnic minority groups and public health programs. She is passionate about prevention, tackling health inequalities and provision of high quality health care.

Marco Akerman is Full Professor of the School of Public Health/University of São Paulo; Latin America Vice President of the International Union of Health Promotion and Education (2010-2016); Chair of the Working Group on Health Promotion and Sustainable Development of the Brazilian Association of Public Health (2011-2016). Former PAHO Regional Consultant on Local Development and Health and Focal Point on Social Determinants of Health. Marco Akerman focuses his consulting activities, teaching and research in the areas of evaluation of public policies, intersectoral action for health equity and social determinants of health. In 2014, he led a review process of the National Health Promotion Policy in Brazil activating multiple simultaneous movements with intense social participation.

Liane Comeau is the Executive Director of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE) since 2018. She has worked in various areas of health promotion for over 20 years, both in non-profit and government sectors. She holds a PhD in Psychology from McGill University (2003). She was Clinical Lecturer at the School of Public Health of Université de Montréal (2013-2018) and has published work in scholarly journals on child development, mental health, and competency-based education, from a health-promotion perspective. Liane serves on the Advisory Board of the UNESCO Chair for Global Education and Health (2019-present) and on the steering committee for the Quebec Health Survey of High School Students (2015-present).