Champions for climate and health action at the country level
ATACH Champions - or High-Level Supporters of ATACH - are highly respected individuals who advocate for the Alliance and its members within their own networks and at international climate and health events. They work to enhance health protection from climate change and raise global awareness about the importance of safeguarding health in relation to climate change, while also promoting health as part of broader efforts in climate action.
Meet our Champions
Dr Maria Neira - ATACH Global Champion
Dr Maria Neira is well-known in the climate and health space as the former Director of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health at the World Health Organization. She remains passionate about protecting human health and as the ATACH Global Champion she will continue to advocate for climate and health action at the country level. With extensive experience at all levels of public health: as a medical doctor, specialising in Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, a medical coordinator working with refugees in conflict zones for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), and as an Under-Secretary of Health and President of the Spanish Food Safety Agency, she has seen how health systems work at every level, knows the challenges and knows what works.
In addition, she holds a Master of Public Health and a Diploma in Human Nutrition, Epidemic Preparedness and Crisis Management. Among many distinctions, she has been awarded the Médaille de l'Ordre national du Mérite by the Government of France and received an “Extraordinary Woman” award by HM Queen Letizia of Spain. In early 2019, she was nominated among the top 100 policy influencers in health and climate change.
Dr Ibrahima Sy — ATACH Champion for the AFRO Region
Dr Ibrahima Sy is currently the Minister of Health for the Republic of Senegal with a wealth of experience in the fields of health and climate.
A health geographer, Professor in the Department of Geography at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar and associate researcher at the Centre for Ecological Monitoring (CSE), Dr Ibrahima Sy embodies, at the continental level, the ambition championed by ATACH: placing health at the heart of climate action.
He has built recognised expertise at the intersection of the environment, climate change, spatial epidemiology and public health. He is a holder of a doctorate in health geography from the Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg, and an international career that took him from the University of Strasbourg to the National Institute for Public Health Research (INRSP) in Mauritania, the Swiss Centre for Scientific Research in Côte d'Ivoire, and the Swiss Tropial and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), before his return to Senegal.
With more than thirteen years of experience as an international expert, he has supported the World Health Organization, the Global Fund, UNICEF, the Global Environment Facility, the French Development Agency (AFD), Save the Children International and Senegal's Ministry of Health. He is the author of numerous landmark publications, a member of the International Association for Ecology and Health, and a reviewer for several peer-reviewed journals. He places his scientific rigour and regional roots at the service of a single cause: building climate-resilient health systems in Africa.
Through his scientific leadership and commitment, Dr Sy is helping to make the AFRO region a space where African evidence informs climate and health policies, in full alignment with ATACH's objectives.
Abdul-Fatawu Salifu – ATACH Champion for Communities
Abdul-Fatawu Salifu is a young advocate from Ghana who brings to ATACH his passion for community, personal experience with supply chain issues and drive for meaningful change. He is a certified nutritionist and specializes in promoting the welfare of vulnerable populations, particularly young people, women, and children.
He has spearheaded numerous community development health initiatives and has made significant contributions to the health of marginalized populations at both national and international levels. Abdul-Fatawu inspires young people to take charge of their health by developing safe spaces to ask difficult questions, advocating for those who are unable to speak freely and sharing his experiences of supply chain issues caused by climate change.
Abdul-Fatawu works as a Technical Consultant with UNAIDS TSM, an Alternate Board Member on the Executive Board of Unitaid, and now the ATACH Champion for Patients and Communities.
Find out more about Abdul's journey here.