Crown Agents is leading a consortium of experts working to enhance national control and elimination approaches to Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in 11 countries across Southern and East Africa and South Asia.
Meet some of our experts below.
INTERVIEWS WITH OUR EXPERTS
Kate Hargreaves
Kate is the Team Lead for Ascend Lot 1.
Kate has extensive experience in the public sector managing transformation in service delivery and accountability in emerging economies. Kate led a customer services transformation programme at the London Borough of Lambeth, was a management consultant at KPMG Consulting working on public expenditure reform in Jamaica and good governance in India and worked as an independent consultant working with donors and NGOs in Kenya, Tanzania and Sierra Leone.
Shodigul Alimshoeva
Shodigul is Principle Programme Manager for Ascend Lot 1.
Accruing experience both in Tajikistan and the United Kingdom, Shodigul has overseen the delivery of numerous projects in Central and Southeast Asia, Sub- Saharan Africa and Latin America. Shodigul is a champion for equal access to healthcare and education, working to ensure this is a reality for the countries with whom Crown Agents works.
Read SHODIGUL’S INTERVIEW HERE
Nastu Sharma
Nastu has been working in the area of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) since 2013, first with USAID supporting ENVISION, a global NTD project led by RTI International, and now with Crown Agents and DFID supporting the ASCEND programme in Nepal.
His areas of expertise include health system strengthening, public-private partnerships, governance and accountability, gender equality and social inclusion in health, health financing, infectious diseases, public health policy and management, and NTD control and elimination.
Nastu has a background as a registered medical doctor, and holds a Master’s degree in Public Health, a Postgraduate degree in obstetrics and a PhD in Clinical Tropical Medicine.
Aja Koul
Aja is a Public Health specialist with more than 19 years’ experience working on various programmes focusing on the control and elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), HIV/AIDS, primary health care services and health system strengthening.
She was previously employed by the South Sudan Ministry of Health as Deputy Director for NTDs. During this time, Aja built strong relationships with relevant ministries, government officials, stakeholders, INGOs, NGOs, UN agencies, donors and partners to help progress the NTD elimination agenda in country. She currently holds the position of ASCEND Country Lead in South Sudan.