Our Steering
Committee
The CHANCE Network is managed by an interim steering committee consisting of representatives with varied expertise, making the committee trans-disciplinary in its nature. The members are from institutions with excellent climate change and health track record.
Wits RHI is currently the network secretariat. They took over from the University of Botswana who served as the secretariat from 2021 to 2024
Click on any of our Steering committee Members for more information
Dr Sokhna Thiam
Committee Member
Dr Julian Natukunda
Committee Member
Ms Gunnell Sandanger
Committee Member
Ms Bettina Koelle
Committee Member
Dr Vincent Pagiwa
Network Secretariat
Dr Sari Kovats
Committee Member
Prof. Britt Nakstad
Committee Member
Dr Gloria Maimela
Network Secretariat
Ms Caroline Muthoni
Committee Member
Ms Celeste Madondo
Network Secretariat
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Dr Sokhna Thiam
Associate Research Scientist |
Committee Member
Dr Thiam is an Environmental Epidemiologist with a background in Health Geography, is an Associate Research Scientist at the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), West Africa Regional Office (WARO) in Dakar. Leading the Environment, Climate Change and Health Unit at WARO, she investigates the relationships between environmental and social influences on health, focusing on infectious as well as non-communicable disease (NCDs) outcomes. Currently, her research focus is on the impact of climate change on NCDs and maternal and newborn health and the impacts of large-scale landscape restoration on human health in West Africa within the ClimateAction4NCDs Heat&MNH, and GGW projects, OneHealth, EchoHealth, and Planetary Health lens.
Sokhna is at the forefront of expanding evidence and research for a better understanding of the climate, environment and health nexus to inform health interventions/actions in the context of global environmental change in Africa, particularly in West Africa. She is a fellow of the 2022 Dalberg/Wellcome Trust Climate & Health Public Engagement Leadership Program and U.S. Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program Alumni on Climate Resiliency and Health Security.
Dr Thiam is an active member of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology and was a member and Secretary of the ISEE Africa Chapter Executive Committee for 3 years (2018-2021) and the ISEE membership committee. She is also a member the Health Climate Network Community.
Dr Julian Natukunda
Post-Doctoral Researcher |
Committee Member
Dr Julian Natukunda is a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Oxford. She holds a PhD in International Health from the University of Tokyo. Her current work adopts a pluriversal approach to understand and develop actionable tools for solidarity praxis in global health. Prior to this, Julian worked on the EU Horizon 2020 ENBEL project researching the impacts of climate change on health and supporting policy engagement on health adaptation in East and Southern Africa. Her interests are centred on engaging in multidisciplinary research initiatives that encompass disease prevention, health policy and equity, climate-health adaptation, and knowledge translation
Ms Gunnell Sandanger
Senior Communication Adviser |
Committee Member
Ms Gunnell Sandanger is a senior communications advisor at CICERO Center for international climate research. She has worked with climate and environmental issues at national and international level since 2005, including with REDD+ in the DRC, climate negotiations, corporate social responsibility and indigenous peoples rights and climate finance. She has comprehensive experience from project management, communication and advocacy towards national and international stakeholders, and in bringing relevant groups from different sectors together. At CICERO she has i.a. lead the dissemination and communication packages in the European H2020 project EXHAUSTION.eu and has been in the management team of the H2020 project ENBEL, led by CICERO.
Ms Bettina Koelle
Senior Learning Specialist |
Committee Member
Ms Bettina Koelle, Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Center, is a geographer by training and passionate about exploring linkages within complex systems and helping people navigate challenges by designing and facilitating interactive processes of dialogue. She leads the Climate Centre’s learning portfolio and is the Southern African focal point for the organisation.
Dr Vincent Pagiwa
Health Policy Analyst |
Network Secretariat
Dr Vincent Pagiwa is a health policy analyst and public health research fellow at the University of Botswana’s Okavango Research Institute. He holds a PhD in Public Health from the La Trobe University in Australia. He has a deep research interest in health policy analysis, health systems financing, evaluation of health programs and efficiency in public health services delivery, health governance and politics, and climate change and health policy nexus. He has published significantly in public health and acquired research grants from local and international funders. Dr Pagiwa led the founding Secretariat of the CHANCE Network through the Horizon 2020 ENBEL project funded by the European Union.
Dr Sari Kovats
Public Health Specialist |
Committee Member
Dr Sari Kovats is an Associate Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a Fellow of the UK Faculty of Public Health. She has a PHD in environmental epidemiology. She leads on research on climate impacts on human health and methods for climate change risk assessment. Sari is committed to knowledge mobilisation to support national adaptation planning in the health sector. She led WP4 on stakeholder engagement in the ENBEL project and was the consortium lead for the CHAMNHA project (Climate, Heat, and Maternal and Neonatal Health in Africa). She is also currently a member of the Management Committee of the Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN).
Prof. Britt Nakstad
Professor in Paediatrics and Neonatology |
Committee Member
Prof. Britt Nakstad, is a physician by training and was the principal co-investigator of ENBEL and CHANCE at the University of Botswana where she is a full professor in paediatrics and neonatology since 2019. She is a member of the CHAMNHA (Climate Heat and Maternal and Neonatal Health in Africa) research consortium. Prof Nakstad is also the Head of the Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Health and clinical neonatal unit at the University of Botswana. Her research interests include climate change adaptation and health risks, especially related to maternal and neonatal health in Africa. She authored and co-authored 200 peer reviewed papers and book chapters, including climate change and child or neonatal health, and consequences for later life, or infectious disease in children.
Dr Gloria Maimela
Deputy CEO |
Network Secretariat
Dr Maimela is a public health specialist with vast experience in health systems strengthening, focusing on HIV and recently on Climate Change and Health. A Medical Doctor by profession, Dr Maimela has been in the clinical field for over 20 years.
Dr Maimela currently leads Wits RHI climate change and health research studies that focus on the impact of extreme heat exposure on the health of vulnerable populations including pregnant women, infants and healthcare workers. She leads the design, implementation and evaluation of simple and complex adaptation and mitigation interventions to mitigate the impact of heat on health in these populations. The above research projects are in collaboration with multiple partners from the African region, Europe, and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Dr Maimela is also the Deputy CEO position at the Foundation of Professional Development (FPD). FPD is a South African registered Private Institution of Higher Education with a focus on developing people through training and capacity building; health systems strengthening; and HIV and STI research.
Ms Caroline Muthoni
Project Coordinator |
Committee Member
Ms Caroline Muthoni is a Project Coordinator at The Aga Khan University. Working at the Institute for Human Development, Caroline handles climate change and health work including being part of the Climate Health African Network for Collaboration and Engagement (CHANCE) planning committee. Her work revolves around supporting evidence-based climate and health policy making; building networks for collaboration among stakeholders in Africa; and facilitating climate and health knowledge exchange and learning. She also has extensive experience managing projects and coordinating different research studies including qualitative inquiries, cross-sectional studies and RCTs on HIV/AIDS, social justice, WASH, urban development, sexual reproductive health & rights and nutrition.
Ms Celeste Madondo
Public Health Specialist |
Network Secretariat
Ms Celeste Madondo is an accomplished public health specialist, who effectively manages a diverse portfolio comprising multiple complex climate and health mitigation and adaptation interventions at Wits RHI. She oversees various transdisciplinary partners and consultants, encompassing experts in meteorology, health, and data science. She leads technical health teams, steer engagement meetings with multiple stakeholders, showcasing her ability to navigate complex, multi-stakeholder environments. Provides dynamic leadership to influence and change policy at the national and global levels, including contributing to the development of heat-health guidelines in South Africa.
