Global Health Expert to Take the Lead at ACTION

ACTION (Advocacy to Control Tuberculosis Internationally) is pleased to announce the hiring of Emily Wainwright as Project Director. The announcement culminates an extensive global search for a project director for this cutting edge global TB advocacy project, which is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and now operates in eight countries.

“I could not be more pleased with our choice of Emily Wainwright to take ACTION forward as its new director,” stated Joanne Carter, executive director of RESULTS Educational Fund, the organization that houses the ACTION secretariat. “Emily brings to the project a wealth of knowledge and on-the-ground experience in infectious disease efforts and a keen sense of advocacy. As all partners in the project work to take ACTION and global health advocacy to the next level, I am confident that Emily will provide the strong leadership, creativity and practical knowledge that we need to truly transform the global fight against TB.”

Wainwright is a highly regarded global health expert. Having spent the past 12 years of her career at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as a Senior Advisor for both Micronutrients and Infectious Diseases, Wainwright has worked closely with the global health community at multiple levels here in the U.S. and globally. Prior to holding positions at USAID, Emily worked with both the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) in Bangladesh. Emily is a Registered Dietician and holds a Masters of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.

In her new role, Wainwright will work with ACTION partners in eight countries and allies across the globe to advance donor and country-level responses to TB, increase support for critical research and development, and increase the focus on TB-HIV co-infection and the impact of TB on women in development.

“Joining ACTION now, is the right thing to do at the right time. The global community must not become complacent in ensuring that communities have access to quality TB treatment if we are to achieve the Millennium Development Goals,” said Wainwright. “Since the initiation of the project in 2005, ACTION has solidified its role as a global leader in advocacy towards a world free from TB. I look forward to working with the powerful cadre of partners in the project, and our many allies and champions around the globe, as we build on successes and use those successes to energize our advocacy to even greater progress in the fight against TB.”

Emily Wainwright will begin serving as ACTION Project Director in March of 2010.