Stakeholder Group

Dr. Víctor Aguayo is the Director of Nutrition and Child Development at UNICEF. He brings 30 years of policy, programme, management and humanitarian experience in maternal and child nutrition in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and globally. His work is guided by the belief that hunger and malnutrition are a violation of children’s rights. Dr. Aguayo is the lead author of the UNICEF’s Conceptual Framework on Maternal and Child Nutrition, 2020 and the UNICEF’s Nutrition Strategy 2020-2030.

Dr Francesco Branca is Director of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety at WHO in Geneva. During his tenure, WHO has created a WHO Nutrition strategy, established a new nutrition guideline development process and developed a Comprehensive Implementation Plan on Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition with six global targets. Dr Branca led preparation for the Second International Conference on Nutrition and has led the Secretariat for the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition. Previous roles include Senior Scientist at the Italian Food and Nutrition Research Institute, where he led studies on the effects of food and nutrients on human health at the different stages of the life cycle and on the impact of public health nutrition programmes. He has also served as President of the Federation of European Nutrition Societies.

As Senior Nutrition Adviser with FCDO, Paula leads the UK’s engagement in the global nutrition governance institutions, contributing to steering their strategic direction, building FCDO’s cooperation & joint advocacy on nutrition & pushing for stronger recognition of the importance of more & faster progress to deliver on SDG 2.

As part of the UK’s current Food Security & Nutrition Campaign, she helps lead the call for the multilaterals to do more on nutrition and integrate nutrition across multiple sectors, and to make more finance for nutrition accessible for country investments in nutrition.

Irshad Danish is a highly experienced International Development professional with a wealth of expertise spanning 22 years. His focus areas include policy advocacy, public health nutrition, international legal frameworks, and civil society strengthening. Danish holds a deep understanding of health and nutrition advocacy, human rights, and child rights governance, having occupied senior positions in both national and international organizations.

Currently, Irshad Danish serves as a Senior Advocacy Advisor for the Asia Region at Nutrition International. In this capacity, he actively contributes to the conceptualization and implementation of advocacy priorities. His commitment to the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement dates back to 2013, during which he played a pivotal role in establishing various SUN Networks, including SUN CSA Pakistan, SUN Academia and Research Network, and SUN CSN Asia Coordination Group.

In 2021, Danish assumed the crucial position of Chair of the SUN Civil Society Network (CSN) Steering Group. His exceptional leadership led to his re-election as Chair of the CSN Steering Group for an additional term, commencing in January 2024. Throughout his career, Danish has been dedicated to enhancing the capacity of Civil Society Organizations on diverse health and nutrition topics. His advocacy efforts extend to securing domestic and global financing for nutrition, with a specific focus on women's and girls' nutrition. Additionally, he has actively worked towards creating an enabling policy and legislative environment to improve nutrition governance and accountability at the national, regional, and global levels.

Dr. Mohamed Abdi Farah is a health and nutrition policy specialist, currently advising the Prime Minister of the Federal Government of Somalia on social sector reform. He is also the SUN focal point for Somalia and has worked as the Director General of the Ministry of Health at the federal level.

As Executive Director, Greg oversees all aspects of the Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNI) and is a member of ATNI's Board (ex officio). Over the past two decades, Greg has established several private-public partnerships that improve health and nutrition in emerging markets. Most recently, he served on the Global Executive Team of Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) engaging over two dozen pharmaceutical companies in partnership to develop medicines for neglected patients. Before this, he led strategy and business development at ThinkWell, a global health organization. From 2011 until 2019, Greg held several leadership roles at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) including Director of Policy & Financing and Director of Food Fortification. During this time, he oversaw a food fortification program that reached approximately one billion people and led the design and establishment of a multimillion-dollar impact investment facility. Since joining ATNI as ED in 2022 he has established a new five-year strategy, new initiatives in policy, and corporate engagement to drive market change for healthy foods. He holds a BA and an MSc (Distinction) from the University of Bath.

Ateca Kama is the Chief Dietitian and Nutritionist at the Ministry of Health and Medical Services in Fiji. She has been a government civil servant for the past thirty years and is responsible for the formulation of policies, regulations, and guidelines on dietetics and nutrition, and food and nutrition security. She also advises the Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services through the Head of Wellness on all matters relating to dietetics and nutrition in Fiji and manages and supervises an effective and efficient delivery of evidence-based and innovative dietetics and nutrition services that is responsive to actual and emerging nutrition threats in Fiji. She champions breastfeeding, and advocates and coordinates optimal food and nutrition security through cross-sectoral collaboration within government, civil society organizations, and development partners. Mrs Ateca Kama is also the Sub-Cluster lead for Nutrition in the Health and Nutrition Cluster for nutrition preparedness and response during disasters and emergencies; and is the Nutrition focal point for the National Codex Committee in Fiji.

Dr. Supreet Kaur is heading Program, Policy, and External Relations at Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). She is a Public Health Nutritionist and received her doctorate from The All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi for her research work on Childhood Obesity and lifestyle diseases. She has more than 20 years of experience in Research, Nutrition Surveys, and Policy Making. Her specific areas of expertise are Large Scale Food Fortification, Maternal and Child Nutrition, Micronutrient Deficiencies, and Malnutrition. Previously she worked as a Senior Technical Expert with NITI Aayog, The Think tank of the Indian Government, and actively led the Preparation of Reports to Monitor and Evaluate the National Nutrition Mission of India. She is an eminent member of a nutrition technical group providing evidence support to many Government and development partner stakeholder groups at the National level. Dr Kaur is Passionate and committed to leveraging strong research skills and contributing to improving outcomes for the most vulnerable populations of India. She has authored numerous publications in peer-reviewed national and international journals.

Afshan Khan is UN Assistant Secretary-General and Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement Coordinator. With over 30 years as an international public official, she most recently served as UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia and as Special Coordinator for the Refugee and Migrant Response in Europe. Her roles at UNICEF include Director of Emergency Programmes, Director of Public Alliances and Resource Mobilization, and Associate Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, as well as UNICEF Representative in Jamaica. She has served in Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jamaica, Kenya, Mozambique, and South Africa. Ms. Khan worked in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General and in UN Coordination, as well as in civil society as CEO of Women for Women International. Born in Hyderabad, India, and raised in Montreal, Canada, she holds a master’s degree in public policy from Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies and a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from McGill University. She is fluent in English, French, and Urdu.

Dr. Bharati Kulkarni currently heads the Division of Reproductive and Child Health and Nutrition at the Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India. Before this, as a scientist at ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, India for more than two decades, she conducted research on important public health nutrition problems in India and other LMICs. She has published extensively with more than 110 peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals. Additionally, she has contributed to several book chapters and policy documents. She has served as a member of committees constituted by different ministries of the Government of India and has actively contributed to the nutrition policy development. She has advocated integrated holistic interventions promoting healthy diets at various forums as an invited speaker/resource person to various international conferences. She has also organized several international meetings including the Indo-UK workshop, the local convener of Agriculture Nutrition and Health Academy Week 2019. She has published popular articles on nutrition in local newspapers and has participated as a panelist on television.

Mercy Lung'aho is a food science and nutrition research scientist with expertise in nutrition-sensitive agricultural programming. With more than a decade of experience across 33 countries in Africa, she is a strategist who advocates for realigning food systems with nutrition and strengthening the intersection of food and health systems in Africa in the context of poly-crisis including climate change and shocks.

Mercy received her Ph.D. in Food Science and International Nutrition from Cornell University. She is a founding Steering Committee member of the Micronutrient Data Innovation Alliance, hosted by the Micronutrient Forum. She is a member of the American Society for Nutrition, the African Nutrition Society, the Institute of Food Technologists, and a registered nutritionist with the Kenya Nutrition and Dietetics Institute, among others.

Heather McBride is the Deputy Director of the Nutrition Team in the Global Health and Nutrition Bureau at Global Affairs Canada. Heather’s career spans the development, peace and security streams including time in Nicaragua, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Erin Milner is a Senior Nutrition Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Advisor at USAID where she leads monitoring and evaluation efforts and manages multi-sectoral nutrition programmes. She has 13 years of international experience designing and implementing nutrition and health projects throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to joining USAID, Erin created resources for nutrition-sensitive agriculture programming and led research in Kenya on nutrition linkages with ecosystems, food security, water and sanitation, and early childhood development. She holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Health Sciences with a focus on Public Health Nutrition from the University of California, Berkeley, US.

Dr Neufeld began her career in an academic position at the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico where she led a variety of implementation research and impact evaluation studies to improve the impact potential of social protection programs in Mexico and the region. She then brought her passion improving the generation and utilization of evidence in program design and delivery to non-governmental organizations, most recently the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, before joining FAO as Director of the Food and Nutrition Division in early 2022. Dr Neufeld is incoming President of the International Union of Nutrition Scientists (IUNS), Past-Chair of the Micronutrient Forum Steering Committee, former Board member of the American Society of Nutrition, and has been member of several WHO and other technical advisory groups. She has published over 150 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters and holds a Master’s and PhD in International Nutrition from Cornell University.

Dr. Tuan Nguyen is a dedicated medical epidemiologist with more than 25 years of experience in international health, positively impacting global communities. He provides strategic technical leadership in research, monitoring, learning, and evaluation activities in the East Asia Pacific region and beyond. His research spans maternal and child health, communicable and non-communicable diseases, health disparities, gender, nutrition policies, health system strengthening, food systems, climate change, and gender.

He has offered technical support and conducted studies in 20 countries, co-authoring more than 70 peer-reviewed publications, guidelines, and reports. A former faculty member of Hanoi Medical University, he currently serves as an adjunct faculty member at VinUniversity and a guest lecturer at the University of Southern California. Dr. Nguyen is also a member of various consultative groups focused on nutrition and health in Southeast Asia and beyond.

Marika Nomura joined JICA as an advisor on nutrition in 2018, supporting technical cooperation in project formation, monitoring and evaluation, and capacity building related to nutrition and health. Prior to joining JICA, she worked at the Japanese medical college, JICA technical cooperation project in Yemen, Harvard School of Public Health, and the National Institute of Public Health. She specializes in nutrition policy. She is particularly knowledgeable and experienced on school meals management program in LMICs, sustainable and healthy diets, Primary Health Care, drawing on Japan's experience in improving nutrition.

Kyoko Shibata Okamura has over 20 years of experience in the areas of health policy research, large scale nutrition program management in Asia and Africa, nutrition financing and accountability, as well as nutrition-sensitive agriculture and food systems. She joined the Global Engagement Unit of the World Bank’s Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice in 2018, working on nutrition-responsive public financial management, obesity prevention strategies, nutrition and food system nexus, among other issues, in addition to providing technical support for nutrition operations in countries.

John Otieno Otieno is a perceptive researcher, policy, advocacy, and evidence-based advocate who is a tenacious champion. He has more than 14 years of practical experience working in the Horn and East Africa in development and humanitarian contexts. To foster positive change and lifesaving action in Sub-Saharan Africa, these include work experience in climate-

Fragile and conflict-affected contexts and bridging the gaps between policy advocacy, influence, program delivery, research, and decision-making. At the moment, he is in charge of overseeing Action Against Hunger's regional advocacy efforts for the nations of East and Horn of Africa, which include Somalia, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Kenya, and Haiti.

To accomplish advocacy goals, he encourages attempts to shape practices and policies and cultivates connections with the government and decision-makers. He is in charge of the creation and execution of all regional advocacy strategies, ensuring engagement and coordination with all departments and project teams. Otieno is a certified PMD Pro and TOT on budget and policy analysis; Qualitative and quantitative research he is a strong proponent for Youth empowerment in advocacy and accountability as change drivers.

Paul Troy has worked across the health sector in clinical, managerial, and policy development. He has significant experience designing and implementing nutrition programs in the development and humanitarian contexts (including working in the Horn, central and southern Africa). He has been responsible for the design and implementation of health and nutrition programs, working with national and local governments, UN partners, and international and national non-governmental organizations, and has represented INGO in health and nutrition clusters in several countries.

Most recently, Paul served as the health and nutrition advisor to Ireland's Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva, where he developed, achieved, and advanced consensus positions on key health matters for the EU and other informal groups of like-minded member states.