Vandana Shah Appointed New Vice President for Health Systems Strengthening

The Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Vandana Shah to the role of Vice President for Health Systems Strengthening effective October 24th. This new position will facilitate the coordination of GHAI’s work across a range of programs and initiatives designed to advance policies and domestic financing to strengthen health systems in low and middle income countries.

As part of the new Health Systems Strengthening cluster at GHAI, Vandana will provide oversight for programs including Data for Health, Prevent Epidemics and Drowning Prevention. She will also spearhead GHAI’s practices on budget advocacy and improving access to health services for non-communicable diseases including hypertension control. This clustering approach reflects GHAI’s commitment to supporting integrated, sustainable health systems that meet the needs of their populations.

In her new role, Vandana will help to deepen efficiency and effectiveness across our programs. She will also help to design and launch new initiatives to reduce barriers to health access and care, increase financing for health systems and improve equity in the health care service delivery with an emphasis on primary health care.

Vandana has deep and wide-ranging leadership expertise in public health advocacy. She has been leading efforts in South Asia for the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and Global Health Advocacy Incubator in her role as the Regional Director since March 2010. In this role, she has led policy campaign and program development interventions in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and other South Asian countries for a range of issues including tobacco control, food policy, cardiovascular health, drowning prevention and gender issues. Formerly, she was the executive director of the North Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund, a state foundation where she was responsible for developing and implementing statewide public health programs.