Regional Youth Champions

Imane Lakbachi is a human rights advocate with a background in computer science. She is the Director of Network Engagement at IYAFP, and the Founder of Concealed Narratives; a local youth-led initiative using digital advocacy and storytelling to raise awareness around women and girls issues in Morocco. Imane is also a Youth Reference Committee Member at the African Union, one of the Co-chairs of the Digital Experience Sub-Committee at PMNCH, a CEE Fellow at IREX, a Generation Democracy Member at IRI, a Women Deliver Young Leaders Program and Fora’s Global Summit Alumna and a Diana Award Winner 2022. Imane is incredibly passionate about sustainable development and is working with international NGOs, civil society organizations, and foundations on meaningful adolescent and youth engagement.

Soe Yu Naing is a global health professional with more than ten years of experience in project management and scientific research. He received an international MSc in Infectious Diseases and One Health (IDOH) from the Université de Tours (France), the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain), and the University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom). He is a product of liberal arts education and has a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience from Earlham College in the United States. Later, he joined the University of Pennsylvania to work on research toward HIV cure. Currently, he is a researcher at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. His work mainly focuses on molecular epidemiology of emerging infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance. He is currently managing a transdisciplinary project titled “”Impact of reducing colistin use on colistin resistance in humans and poultry”” in Indonesia. Beyond academia, Soe Yu Naing collaborates with ISGLOBAL, OHT, and consults for WHO, contributing to global health policy. He also serves as a visiting faculty at Parami University in Myanmar, teaching research methods, infectious diseases, and One Health. In his leisure, he writes Burmese short stories and podcast scripts, tackling taboo subjects like sexual and reproductive health (SRH) to foster open discussions in Myanmar.

Nojus Saad is a health technology entrepreneur, medical doctor, and social justice advocate with 7+ years of multinational research, policy development, and social entrepreneurial expertise around digital healthcare, gender justice, and healthcare technology.

Dr. Nojus is the President & CEO of Youth For Women Foundation, where he has positively impacted over 5600 youth and women in 59 rural, refugee, and underserved societies across Iraq, India, and France. 

Vice Chair of PMNCH at the World Health Organization, Saad represents the institution and contributes to researching global health policies at the annual WHO’s Global Conference on Health Promotion, UN Commission on Status of Women, International Aids Conference, and the IAS Conference on HIV Science. Dr. Nojus serves as an expert adviser to Bond UK, where he consults the UK government’s international development sector around digital health investments in the MENA. He also co-chairs the Youth Leadership Council at the Global Fund for Children (GFC), where he shapes the GFC’s global research & innovation strategy.

Saad is the former United Nations ambassador of the Internet Governance Forum, and a senior Digital Policy Fellow at ICANN; where he’s innovating technology enterprises for UHC, developed global DNS policies, and strengthened digital literacy among the most vulnerable.

Connie is a UN ITU Generation Connect Youth Envoy dedicated to STEM for social good in sustainable and inclusive development. She engages in Internet Governance and digital transformation by representing youths at UN Internet Governance Forums and UN consultations, mentoring young fellows, together with coordinating ISOC youth initiatives related to digital technologies; these experiences led her to be an IGF workshops organizer, ITU Junior Policy Analyst, “ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2022” youth delegate, “ITU WTDC Youth Summit” ambassador, “Huawei Seeds for the Future” ITU-nominated youth representative, and “UNMGCY Science-Policy Interface” technology focal point, focusing on current and upcoming digital-related opportunities and challenges, including digital health, fintech, AI, misinformation, digital privacy, accessibility, and youth innovation. She also bridges the digital divide via mobile technologies in local communities with youths, promotes ed-tech in schools, and is invited as a youth panellist in international meetings and strategy planning. Additionally, she majors in biomedical engineering with a passion for e-health; frequently holding STEM-related workshops for students, she is the bearer of numerous well-recognised innovation and technology awards (e.g. HSBC), and has contributed to a global scientific journal that empowers young changemakers and publishes STEM-based solutions, with a focus on digital technologies and physical sciences.

Dr. Gladson Vaghela is a medical doctor from India, currently serving as the Research Coordinator at The Training for Health Equity Network, USA, directing his efforts towards the attainment of social accountability in medical education through education, research, and service. He is a Policy Fellow of The Network: Towards Unity For Health, USA; a Country Representative at Healthcare Information for All, UK; and serves at the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Youth Health Network, UK. During his medical training, for four consecutive years, he has served at different capacities at the Executive Committee of the Asian Medical Students’ Association International, a student-led organization that has representation in more than 30 countries. Notably, he has served as a Youth Advisor for YuWaah (Generation Unlimited) at UNICEF India, with a specific focus on empowering and nurturing the well-being of young individuals. In the year 2023, he made it among the top 50 finalists for the prestigious Chegg.org Global Student Prize. Dr. Vaghela exemplifies natural leadership qualities and a resolute dedication to the empowerment of youth. He actively participates in high-level meetings, representing the voices of young people both locally and internationally, particularly in issues pertaining to education and universal access to healthcare.

Yifan Zhou, PharmD, ACPR, is a pharmacist in Canada, where she practices both in the industry and hospital. As the immediate past Chairperson of External Relations at International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation (IPSF), she managed over 20 partner and sponsors relations. She has also represented the Federation at more than 10 high level international meetings, where she delivered statements, interviewed, and advocated for public health, climate change, digital health, and meaningful youth engagement.

Yifan is currently the President-Elect of IPSF, where she hopes to continue advocating for 500,000 pharmacy students and recent graduates around the world.

She was the past Executive Co-Chair of IMAGINE Clinic, a student-run clinic that serves marginalized community in Toronto. During the pandemic, she led a team of 30 executives to transform the walk-in clinic into a virtual clinic to continue providing care. The clinic also offered physical space, computer and internet access to bridge the gaps in access for its patients. Yifan also developed an automated flu form for a pharmacy technology company, which served over 700k Canadians during the pandemic.

Ruben Avila (He/His/Him) is an advocate with 9 years of experience working on projects related to sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equity, LGBITQ+ issues , and meaningful youth engagement. During this time, Ruben collaborated on different roles with local and international civil society organizations, public and private institutions, and United Nations Agencies. He’s the Founder and Director of Sin Control Parental, a platform working on providing information and digital counseling on sexual and reproductive health for youth and adolescents in Mexico. Ruben was recognized as a global young leader by SheDecides global political movement (2019) and the International AIDS Society (2021). Additionally, he participated in the prestigious Human Rights Advocates Program 2020-2021 by Columbia University in New York and was recently a recipient of the One Young World and Novartis “Reimagining healthcare scholarship”, which recognises visionary and innovative young leaders worldwide working in healthcare.

Dr. Rohini Dutta (she/her/hers) is a medical graduate from Christian Medical College Ludhiana, Punjab, India and a Global Surgery Fellow at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Research in Surgical Care Delivery in Low-Middle Income Countries, India. She was one of the recipients of the ‘Women of the Future Award India’ in 2021. Her clinical and research work currently focuses on increasing access to surgical and obstetric care in low-resource settings to rural and marginalised communities and leveraging digital technology in the health care sector to accelerate solutions towards achieving universal health coverage. She has served as President of Asian Medical Students Association India in 2019-20 and collaborated with the Indian Development Foundation on Project One Million with its mission to supply one million girls within the reproductive age with free sanitary pads and menstrual hygiene products. She will be joining the Harvard Programme for Global Surgery and Social Change in July 2022.

Eglė is a young Resident Doctor in Dermatology in Vilnius, Lithuania, previously trained in Switzerland, France and Italy. She is a part of the newly established The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health Youth Advisory Panel, the Vice-chair of the Healthcare Constituency at the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health hosted by World Health Organisation, and a Woman Deliver Young Leader.

Previously, Egle acted as Liaison Officer for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Issues and the elected Vice President for External Affairs of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA), representing 1.3 million medical students from 131 countries. She represented IFMSA at global health meetings such as World Health Assembly, WHO Executive Board Session and United Nations Commission on Social Development. Together with her colleagues, she led a global research on digital health gaps in medical education systems globally.

Shalin Jyotishi is a Senior Analyst on Education and Labor at the think-tank New America and a Fellow at the World Economic Forum. He is also a Forbes Contributor covering careers and education. Shalin’s expertise centers on issues where higher education and the workforce meets technological innovation and science and innovation policy. Shalin’s work has appeared in NPR, Morning Consult, and Financial Times, and he has spoken before the United Nations, OECD, U.S. National Academies, and the World Bank. He serves or has served on advisory boards for the MIT Science Policy Review, the International Economic Development Council, the United Nations International Telecommunication Union, American Enterprise Institute, the U.S. National Science Foundation, George Washington University’s Institute for Public Policy, and Georgetown University’s Center on Security and Emerging Technology. Previously, Shalin led programs at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, North America’s oldest presidents-led higher education association, and held positions at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the University of Michigan, and Stanford University. He is the past CEO of the Journal of Science Policy & Governance. Shalin is online at ShalinJyotishi.com.

Eunice Kilonzo is a Communications and (Social) Media Specialist currently a Manager, Content Generation at Safaricom PLC. Her immediate former role was with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) HQ in Nairobi, Kenya as a Social Media and Content Consultant.

Eunice has extensive hands-on experience in organizational communications and (social) media management across a range of sectors: health, science, environment, technology, financial services and development.

She is fascinated with digital health, global health diplomacy, matters around access to health care in children and the youth, newer forms of storytelling, and content creation, generation and sharing.

Danielle Mullings is a multidimensional Software Engineering student with interests including technology, leadership and the arts. She currently serves as the President of the Guild of Students at the University of the West Indies Mona, where she is also a UWI Open Scholar. Said to be ‘one of the field’s brightest young minds’, Danielle believes strongly in the power of tech and innovation in edifying society and would ultimately like to work in areas with civic applications of technology. This complements her work as the Partnership & Campaign Officer for Transform Health, a global coalition aimed at using technology as a catalyst for universal health coverage. She aspires to become a world leader in technological representation for the Caribbean and Latin America, focusing on enhancing the Caribbean’s pursuit of the SDGs.

Lastly, she has a natural affinity for leadership and youth empowerment and thus serves on youth councils, both locally and internationally, representing the voice of young people in technology, education, national issues and tech for health.

Saif Malhem is the founding co-chair of the AI Future Lab: a community of next-gen leaders pushing the frontiers for responsible AI globally, incubated by members of the Global Shapers Community, an initiative of the World Economic Forum. Coming from all continents, the lab consists of six working groups including health and operated with the mission of empowering the global youth to develop responsible artificial intelligence, democratizing access to shaping its trajectory, and ensuring inclusion of global communities. Saif is an engineering professional and worked as the AI lead for both Fortune 500 companies and young start-ups, managing AI transformations and producing technology roadmaps. He’s currently a researcher at the Center for AI and Digital Policy. With his background in clean technology, he was named one of Canada’s Top 30 Under 30 in sustainability by Corporate Knights in 2020. Having previously worked at the Clinton Foundation, Saif graduated from McGill University with a degree in honours electrical engineering and technological entrepreneurship.

Born in Malaysia and raised in Canada, Brian Li Han Wong (@brianwong_) is an entrepreneur, public health advocate & practitioner, and multidisciplinary researcher interested in ageing and life course, digital health, global health governance, immunisation/vaccination policy, and youth engagement. He currently sits on the Steering Committees for the EUPHA Digital Health Section and the new WHO Youth Council. He also leads the Public Health Erosion and Vaccination subgroups on ASPHER’s COVID-19 Task Force and sits on the Board of Trustees for UK Model WHO and Students for Global Health.

Dr Wong has previously acted as surveillance epidemiologist for Public Health England’s Immunisation and Countermeasures Division as well as Programme Manager of the “Outbreak!” strand of UCL’s annual Global Citizenship Programme. His long-standing passion for meaningful youth engagement through innovation, capacity building, and experiential learning activities has led him to found LonWHO, the world’s largest Model WHO simulation, and UK Model WHO, the first unified structure for Model WHO simulations in the UK which provides global health policy, advocacy, and diplomacy training for students and young professionals. He has written and delivered policy statements at high-level meetings, such as the World Health Assembly and the WHO’s Executive Board Meeting, as part of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) delegation.

Dr Wong is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health and the Royal Society of Arts. He is currently undertaking a social innovation fellowship with Year Here and has been accepted onto the 3rd WHO infodemic manager training. Since concluding his doctoral studies in cardiovascular science at University College London, he went on to pursue an Executive Diploma in the Art of Diplomacy from the European Academy of Diplomacy and the Global Clinical Scholars Research Training program with Harvard Medical School. He holds a Master’s degree in epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and an Honours Bachelor degree in biomedical science with a minor in music from the University of Ottawa.