Washington, DC, USA// — The Aspen Institute announced today the 2022 class of the New Voices Fellowship, welcoming the tenth cohort of experts from Africa, Asia and Latin America who will take up more powerful roles as advocates and policymakers in the global development discussion.
“These are the people policymakers should be listening to,” said New Voices Fellowship Director Andrew Quinn. “With world-class expertise and personal, lived experience of basic development challenges, these Fellows can explain how policy shifts can accelerate progress on the ground.”
The 2022 Class of New Voices Fellows is the 10th since the program launched in 2013. In total, 189 New Voices Fellows from 47 countries have worked with the Fellowship to write close to 2,000 Op-eds in outlets ranging from the New York Times and Al Jazeera to AllAfrica and STAT News.
Fellows have given more than 1,600 talks and scored more than 10,000 media mentions, leading to increased visibility into more prominent roles as advocates and policymakers.
The 2022 class is made up of 15 Fellows from 10 countries including Afghanistan, Brazil, Cameroon, India, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
They include a Zimbabwean public health expert overseeing equitable distribution of vaccines to some 73 low- and middle-income countries around the world, an Indian doctor delivering first-class healthcare to poor communities through a chain of low-cost hospitals, and the first deaf lawyer in Uganda who is fighting in court to stop the marginalization of his community.
The full list of 2022 Fellows and descriptions of their work can be found here.
Intensive Media and Advocacy Training
The 2022 Fellows will undertake a program of intensive media and advocacy training and mentorship to reach a broader global audience and advocate for better, more sustainable policies.
The New Voices Fellowship is a flagship program of the Aspen Global Innovators group that cultivates a vibrant global network of innovators who are creating solutions to persistent or overlooked challenges.
Supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Open Societies Foundation, the New Voices Fellowship aims to shift power to those with proximity to the communities they serve by providing the skills, platforms, visibility and networks to create positive change.
Along with their writing and advocacy work, New Voices Fellows have delivered numerous TED talks and professional speeches and participated in expert panels around the world.
Under a training partnership with The Moth, a non-profit organization dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling, New Voices Fellows have told their stories to live US audiences and through radio and podcast syndication.
Application to the Fellowship is by nomination only, and nominations will open in August 2022 for the next class.
2022 Aspen New Voices Fellows
Desmond Jumbam, Cameroon Health Policy Advisor, Operation Smile Inc
Desmond is a Ghana-based health policy consultant whose pointed critique of neocolonialist thinking in global development – “How (Not) To Write About Global Health”, published in the BMJ Global Health journal – went viral on the Internet.
His ironic approach to deeply serious problems has earned him a reputation as a humorist, but he sees nothing funny about the lack of accountability in global health. “It’s hard to tolerate when you see the dangers firsthand. I felt an obligation to speak up because these [behaviors] have a direct impact on the lives of vulnerable people and allow injustices to persist,” he says.
Egerton Neto, Brazil LGBTI+ Activist
Five years ago, Egerton came out as a gay man in one of the largest Brazilian newspapers. Since that time, he has been a fierce LGBTI+ activist in a country where queer rights are increasingly being suppressed.
After leading an LGBTI+ NGO, Egerton spent time working within the Brazilian Ministry of Culture and Tourism where he advocated for diversity and inclusion. Egerton is currently pursuing a Masters of Public Policy at the London School of Economics. He hopes to return to Brazil with advanced technical skills that can help him promote LGBTI+ rights across the country. He looks forward to the networking opportunities presented through the New Voices Fellowship.
Elmer Aluge, Nigeria President/Programs Coordinator, Sickle Cell Aid Foundation
Elmer is the President of the Sickle Cell Aid Foundation in Nigeria, the country with the highest-burden of sickle cell disease in the world. Experiencing the effects of sickle cell disease on relatives early on in life, she became energized to help improve patient access to both information and quality treatment.
Elmer calls sickle cell disease one of ignorance – in that patients are victims of the choices made by others (parents) – She has clear advocacy targets that include listing sickle cell disease as a disability, which would open the door to more treatment options. More broadly, Elmer is an advocate for including non-communicable diseases in healthcare planning.
Ifeoma Malo, Nigeria Co-Founder / CEO, Clean Technology Hub
Ifeoma is the co-founder and CEO of Clean Technology Hub, which focuses on rural electrification and renewable energy. She began this work after growing disillusioned with the slow progress in the public sector, where she had served as a policy adviser.
Ifeoma describes her “aha” moment coming after she met some of the girls who escaped the Chibok kidnapping. One of the girls said the kidnappers took advantage of the darkness to sow confusion, and many more girls could have fled to safety if there had been adequate electricity.
Imo Etuk, Nigeria Co-Founder and CTO, mDoc Healthcare
Imo is the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at mDoc Healthcare, a digital health social enterprise serving people with regular and chronic health needs. Imo’s path to becoming a health entrepreneur took him to the United States, where he studied electrical engineering before earning his MBA from New York University. After working in the private sector, he returned to the African continent and saw a dearth of technologists who could help address poor health outcomes.
“When I co-founded mDoc, I did not realize the impact low digital literacy has on health literacy and, ultimately, on population health level outcomes,” he says. “All I knew was that I had hypertension, my co-founder’s father had died prematurely from complications from hypertension, and the engineer in me believed we could use technology to solve the burgeoning chronic health needs of our continent.”
Isabel Barbosa, Brazil Associate and Adjunct Professor of Law, Georgetown University
Isabel is a Brazilian lawyer focused on human rights, noncommunicable diseases, and sexual and reproductive health.
Currently a senior associate at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, Isabel has concentrated on high-impact, strategic litigation, including cases to promote accountability from transnational corporations and strengthen the regulatory framework around tobacco and unhealthy foods and beverages in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico.
Keghah “Roger” Nuah, Cameroon Director, Community Agriculture and Environmental Protection Association
Roger describes himself as a feminist climate justice activist who works with rural women farmers in Cameroon.
His advocacy focuses on discriminatory gender norms, unequal access to land and other resources, and the pervasiveness of gender-based violence. He speaks openly about witnessing violence against his mother, which inspired his work on financial independence for women.
He wants to build a shelter and resource center that can provide trauma-informed emergency care as well as business resources for women in his community. Roger believes that as a man in a feminist space, he can work with men to change their behavior.
Kevin Lunzalu, Kenya Co-Founder, Kenyan Youth Biodiversity Network
Growing up, Kevin loved visiting the Nairobi National Park. He was fascinated with the work of the rangers and how they closely interacted with the wildlife. His interest in wildlife and conservation led him to pursue a degree in Wildlife Management at Egerton University.
Kevin’s short-term engagement at the Nairobi National Park during his undergraduate field attachment inspired his desire to engage more young people in the global conservation conversation.
He co-founded the Kenyan Youth Biodiversity Network (KYBN) to do just that. KYBN has grown into a robust youth-led organization that amplifies the voice of youth and advocates for policy change in the conservation space. Kevin is now a Masters Fellow in Coastal Science & Policy at the University of California Santa Cruz.
He plans to return to Kenya in Summer 2022, to continue leading KYBN to find ways to mainstream conservation issues into other sectors and spearhead a capstone project through which he hopes to address the harmful impact of marine debris on key nesting sites of endangered species of sea turtles in Kenya.
Margaret Nigba, Liberia Attorney/Executive Director, Her Voice Liberia
Margaret is founder and executive director of Her Voice Liberia, which provides legal services and access to justice for marginalized and vulnerable women and girls in rural communities.
During the pandemic, which led to a global rise in domestic violence, she launched a mobile legal clinic that served more than 300 women and girls in rural areas. She leads issue-based advocacies aimed at promoting a gender-based violence-free society for women and girls.
She has been publicly campaigning for a comprehensive approach to justice and the rule of law to increase access to justice and fulfilment of the rights of women and children, and has already racked up several policy successes.
Nour Sharara, Senegal Public Health Scientist, Biobot Analytics
Nour is a third-generation Lebanese Senegalese whose interest in public health was spurred by observing customers at her mother’s pharmacy. She eventually went on to school in Canada, and then to earn an MPH in the United States.
She returned to Senegal to work on epidemic preparedness and response, working with Ministries of Health in francophone West & Central Africa to set up Public Health Emergency Operations Centers.
Her work in global health revealed to her the mismatch between the priorities of international public health groups and the local authorities they partner with, each operating with distinct timelines and accountable to different stakeholders.
Seeking to contribute in a novel way, Nour now works at Biobot, a Cambridge-based start-up which is part of the fast-growing wastewater epidemiology movement which develops public health analytics based on sewage analysis.
Pashtana Durrani, Afghanistan Executive Director, LEARN Afghanistan
Pashtana has been a social activist since the age of seven, when she saw that other girls her age lacked access to education. As the founder of LEARN, she runs a network of digital schools that serve Afghan girls even when the Taliban orders them to stay at home.
When the abrupt departure of U.S. forces led to the Taliban retaking control of her country last year, Pashtana stepped forward and became one of the most outspoken voices on behalf of Afghan women and girls. “I am not doing this because my country is war-torn,” she says. “I feel responsible for my people for community, and I know nobody will come to rescue us.”
Shuchin Bajaj, India Founder/Director, Ujala Cygnus Healthcare Services
Shuchin is an Indian medical doctor who founded Ujala Cygnus Healthcare, now a chain of 16 hospitals supported by outreach village Sehat Clinics and a Digital Health Network, Medpho, which deliver low-cost healthcare aimed primarily at poor and marginalized communities outside of India’s urban centers.
He said he was inspired to concentrate on finding healthcare for the poor because of his own upbringing as the son of refugees from Pakistan who lived in resource constrained circumstances.
Shuchin said his model is based on sharply cutting set-up costs, eliminating the fee-for-service model for paying doctors, and never turning away patients due to inability to pay. “It is a fireable offense at Ujala Cygnus to deny care to someone purely for financial reasons,” he says.
He said it is up to social entrepreneurs to resolve India’s deepening healthcare crisis because the government has stepped back from offering a social safety net. He believes his model of low-cost hospitals & preventive health could be adapted to other countries, and he wants to reach beyond India with his message.
Sylvie Deugue, Cameroon Forest Campaigner, Greenpeace Africa
Sylvie grew up in the forest region of Cameroon. She describes a childhood living in peace and harmony with nature. Borned on the international day of forests she feels uniquely connected to forests.
Over the years, she witnessed the brutal impact of deforestation, land grabbing and children being killed by speeding timber trucks. She then decided to take action and speak up for the protection of the forest and its people, whose land has been stolen.
She works for Greenpeace Africa, building advocacy forest campaigns within the Congo Basin and she is currently pursuing a PhD in sustainable economic growth.
She hopes to gain advanced training from New Voices to learn how to better interact with the international media while advocating for better forest governance within the Congo Basin.
Thabani Maphosa, Zimbabwe Managing Director of Country Programs, Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance
Thabani is managing director of country programs at GAVI, the global vaccine alliance, where he oversees equitable distribution of vaccines distribution to some 73 to low- and middle-income countries around the world.
Thabani, who previously had a long career as a food security expert and humanitarian with World Vision, said global vaccine inequity was one factor behind the loss of his own grandmother to COVID-19 last year and has vowed to redouble his efforts to ensure that immunization is seen as a central pillar of global health security.
Timothy Egwelu, Uganda Advocacy Office, Creative Director, Uganda National Association of the Deaf
Timothy is the first (and apparently still the only) deaf lawyer in Uganda. He works on social inclusion as well as equitable court access for deaf people.
He said marginalization of deaf people is rampant in Uganda, even though the country has officially recognized sign language.
Marginalization “occurs when everyday decisions and policies that influence deaf people’s lives are decided without deaf people’s input – a practice that perpetuates systematic discrimination and creates barriers to development,” he said. Timothy wants to see more deaf representation in court, and universal access to sign language.
The Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the most important challenges facing the United States and the world.
