We are thrilled to announce the appointment of Cary James, Chief Executive of the World Hepatitis Alliance and active CSEM Advisory Group member, as the Civil Society Representative to the UHC2030 Steering Committee (Alternate), representing the Global North.
The Steering Committee is the decision making body for UHC2030, responsible for setting strategic directions and oversight for the multi-stakeholder movement to strengthen health systems for UHC.
Cary James was selected to be on the CSEM Advisory Group in 2019. In this role, he has helped shape CSEM’s advocacy messages, linked civil society organizations to the platform, and led discussions on universal health coverage in the global health advocacy space. Cary is also an advisory board member of INTEGRATE, a programme to integrate early diagnosis and linkage to prevention and care of viral hepatitis, HIV, TB and STIs in Europe, and a former chair of the European [Hepatitis/HIV] Testing Week.
Cary began his civil society career in the grassroots HIV movement in London, UK. He then served as the Head of Health Improvement Programmes at the Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) and led HIV Prevention England, the official government funded national HIV prevention program. During this time, England saw a 37% decrease in new HIV diagnoses and a reduction in new HIV infections – the first decrease in UK history and a turning point in the epidemic. He has also been engaged in the fields of non-communicable diseases, patient safety, and health system strengthening in support of the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis.
The UHC2030 Steering Committee members represent the different constituencies in UHC2030, and meet regularly to facilitate communication and interaction of the different stakeholders. This includes representatives of country governments, multilateral organizations, WHO, World Bank, philanthropic foundations, civil society, and the private sector.
The CSEM appoints three representatives and three alternates to the Steering Committee; one represents civil society organizations in the Global North, one in the Global South, and one seat draws representation from community-based organizations. These Civil Society Representatives attend UHC2030 Steering Committee meetings and present the views of the CSEM constituency. Alternate Representatives provide support to the active representatives during their first two years and then become the Civil Society Representatives for an additional two-year term.
Cary joins Masaki Inaba (currently representing the Global North), Javier Hourcade Bellocq (currently representing community-based organizations), Khuat Thi Hai Oanh (currently representing the Global South), Smitha Sadasivan (alternate representative for community-based organizations), and Evalin Karijo (alternate representative for the Global South) as CSEM’s representation on the UHC2030 Steering Committee. Together, the team links our civil society constituency with other UHC stakeholders and continue to support elevating civil society voices in global health governance platforms.
