Programme

Dr Neville Sweijd is the Director of the ACCESS programme. The Alliance for Collaboration on Climate and Earth Systems Science, or ACCESS programme, is an instrument of the Global Change Programme of the South African Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation. It is hosted by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. The main purpose of the programme is to provide a platform for multi-institutional and trans-disciplinary research on the drivers, mechanisms of manifestation, impacts and applications and responses to the dynamics of earth systems,  as they affect the natural world, ecosystem services and human society.   

ACCESS is also a training programme for emerging researchers and students who are interested in the future of our planet and society. The work ACCESS does is aligned with the UN SDGs and Agenda 2030. Dr Sweijd completed his PhD in 2000 in marine sciences at the University of Cape Town. He has held several senior positions in the CSIR, as the Director of the BENEFIT programme in Namibia (now the Benguela Current Convention) and at the University of the Western Cape.  He is the deputy-President of the Scientific Committee on Problems in the Environment (SCOPE), and the Editor-in-Chief of Environmental Development. He has several research interests generally associated with changing seasonality and extreme events as they manifest in the marine sector and in human health. 

Dr. Angela Chaudhuri advocates for making public health work for communities in need. Over two decades, her leadership has impacted global and local initiatives, prioritizing marginalized groups. She’s lived in five and worked in over 25 countries. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Dental Sciences (Bangalore University), Masters in Public Health (Boston University) and a PG Diploma in Journalism (London School). 

As the Chief Catalyst at Swasti, a global public health nonprofit, she aims to add 100 million healthy days to the marginalized by 2030. She currently serves on the board of the Catalyst Foundation and Swasti and on two committees in the World Health Organization: Social Participation Technical Network and as a Steering Committee member of WHO's first-ever Civil Society Commission. 

Dr. Angela Chaudhuri's work aligns closely with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly with goals related to health, well-being, and reducing inequalities. Her initiatives, such as equitable COVID-19 vaccination and global vaccine equity efforts, particularly for HPV vaccination, contribute directly to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Angela's dedication to "Leave No One Behind" ensures that vulnerable populations are prioritized, embodying the spirit of the SDGs in her work. 

Dr Luiz Augusto (Guto) Galvão is a medical doctor with a master's degree in public health and a Ph.D. in Collective Health. He is a senior researcher at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation's Center for Global Health (CRIS/FIOCRUZ), responsible for the Environment, Climate, and Global Health. He has represented Fiocruz before US Institutions and WHO on several occasions. Furthermore, he is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and an international correspondent member of the Brazilian Academy of Medicine. 

Previously, he worked for 25 years at the Pan American Health Organization, where he organized and led the areas of sustainable development, health equity, and environmental health. He was also a professor at the National School of Public Health in Brazil, the founding coordinator of the Center for Studies on Occupational Health and Human Ecology Studies (CESTEH), and the past president of the Brazilian Society of Toxicology (SBT). 

Dr. Aakash Shrivastava is presently the Head, Centre for Environmental Health and Occupational Health, Climate Change and Health at National Centre for Disease Control, Delhi. This Centre is the technical agency supporting the India’s Ministry of Health in implementing “National Mission on Climate Change and Health”. 

After his MD, Dr. Shrivastava went to National University of Ireland to pursue Masters in Public Health and Doctorate in Epidemiology. Prior to NCDC he has served other organizations inclusive of Indian Council of Medical Research, Indian Armed Forces and UNICEF. He has been a part of the founding team of Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme at NCDC, and served the Epidemiology Division at NCDC. 

Dr. Purvi Patel is a senior consultant at the National Centre for Disease Control. She is working for the National Programme on Climate Change and Human Health, MoHFW. Health sector response to impacts of extreme heat has been her core area of work over the last four years. She works on heat-health surveillance and supports technical development in health facility-based green and climate resilient measures. 

She completed master’s in public health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA in 2006, following her medical graduation in India. She is also an alumna of the India-EIS (Epidemic Intelligence Service) program. She has worked in public health and clinical research at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India, and the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes, Baltimore, USA over the past two decades. 

Dr Luiz Paulo Assad holds a degree in Oceanography from the State University of Rio de Janeiro (1996), a master's degree in Physical Oceanography from the University of São Paulo (2000) and a PhD in Civil Engineering from the Alberto Luiz Coimbra Institute of Graduate Studies and Engineering Research (2006). He is currently an adjunct professor in the Department of Meteorology at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and also a permanent professor in the Graduate Program in Meteorology of the aforementioned department.  

Researcher and technical coordinator of the Environmental Modelling Centre of the Laboratory of Computational Methods in Engineering (COPPE) and collaborating professor in the Civil Engineering Program at COPPE. He has experience in the area of Physical Oceanography, with an emphasis on computational ocean modelling, working mainly on the following topics: global and regional computational ocean modelling, climate modelling, ocean-atmosphere interaction processes, characterization and analysis of meteorological, oceanographic and environmental data, Renewable Marine Resources and sustainability. 

At the helm of the Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) Programme at the South Africa’ Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Prof Sechaba Bareetseng is a visionary leader directing projects that delve into the research, development, and commercialisation of IKS, particularly in the health domain through community engagement. His efforts are key to driving industrialisation and rural development within South Africa, significantly contributing to the progress of the traditional medicine sector and biodiversity conservation.  

Prof Bareetseng’s extensive experience in the SADC region has honed his skills in formulating SADC science policy tools on Operationalisation of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing, Research Ethics, and Resource Mobilisation for scientific and innovation IKS initiatives. His role as the technical Principal Investigator for the SADC Secretariat’s project, which focused on harnessing indigenous knowledge to develop HIV/AIDS remedies in Zimbabwe and Eswatini, underscores his profound impact on regional health improvements. 

Nitish Kumar V leads the data and technology division of the Precision Health platform in Swasti, where he spearheads initiatives that leverage data science and social technologies to tackle key challenges in health equity and climate adaptation. With over 9 years of experience and a postgraduate degree in rural management from the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), he combines expertise in technology, data science, and grassroots implementation.  

Recognizing that the predominant paths for innovation often exclude significant numbers of people from the benefits of technological and social progress, his team works in the nexus of sectors such as livelihoods, public health, and climate, using data-driven tools to enhance the well-being of underserved communities. By integrating social technologies, his team ensures that their solutions are innovative, inclusive, and aligned with the broader goals of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, contributing to socially and ecologically sustainable outcomes that "leave no one behind. 

Ms Bhadwal leads research activities in the area of climate change, focusing mainly on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation assessments and works in close association with communities. She has been with TERI since October 2000 and has contributed to several projects. Some of the key projects she has worked on include a study on vulnerability to climate change in the Indian agricultural sector in the context of economic globalization, (supported by CIDA and the Government of Norway), contributions to India's first and second national communications submitted to the UNFCCC and World Bank supported study on vulnerability to climate variability and change through an assessment of issues and options for adaptation.  

Ms Bhadwal is also listed as a UNDP regional roster of expert on vulnerability and adaptation. Furthermore, she has been identified as a Member by the Planning Commission as part of a Working Group on Climate Change and Environment for the XIIth V Year Plan (2012-2017). She has also been closely associated with the International Human Dimensions Programme attending numerous open meetings and Institutes organised by them. At COP events, she has been actively involved as an observer, organizer and contributor. She has published several papers on related issues and has contributed as a Lead Author for the IPCC AR4 WGII Report. She is also a Review Editor for the IPCC AR5 WG II Report and the IPCC Special Report on Extreme Events. Ms Bhadwal has a Master in Environmental Sciences from Hissar in Haryana.