GA 2024 Program

10h00-10h30
Welcome and Registration

Attendance and membership register 

10h30 - 13h00
Statutary reports & elections

13h00-14h00 **Lunch break**

14h00-15h30
Focus on LuxOR

Climate and environmental health

Advancing Innovative Diagnostics: Insights from a Point-of-Care Study for Lassa Fever in Nigeria

** Break **

15h30-17h30
Operationnal debate

The impact of misinformation on MSF operations and access to humanitarian space

** Break **

18h00-19h00
MSF We Want To Be

Progress and prospects for MSF Luxembourg

19h00
Voting results and closing

Dr Amrish Baidjoe, Director, LuxOR

Amrish Baidjoe is an infectious disease Epidemiologist and Microbiologist specialised in humanitarian health emergencies and is engaged in bridging the needs between operational humanitarian organisations and other partners such as academia. He worked in different larger humanitarian crises around the world. He obtained his PhD from Radboud University Medical Centre and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He holds an honorary Assistant Professor at the LSHTM in the department of infectious disease epidemiology. He previously worked in the WHO Health Emergencies Department, the International Committee and Federation of the Red Cross and was part of the outbreak investigation taskforce at Institut Pasteur (Paris) as well as the outbreak analytics Liaison at Imperial College (London). Since 2021, he’s the Director of the LuxOR Unit.

In his current capacity, Amrish offers strategic direction for Operational Research (OR), focusing particularly on MSF-OCB OR policy strategy and vision. He is actively involved in OR capacity building and training initiatives, and plays a pivotal role in designing the structural epidemiology infrastructure within MSF OCB Operations. His primary research interests lie in malaria, vector borne diseases and infectious disease outbreaks, with a broader commitment to promoting proper bioethics, diversity, equity, and inclusion in Global Health.

Maria Livia De Rubeis, Policy and Practice Communication Advisor, LuxOR

Maria Livia embarked on their journey in international development and humanitarian aid after earning a Bachelor's degree in International Economics and Management from Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi. After her first field deployment working on a health financing research project in Madagascar, she transitioned into various roles within international NGOs. These roles primarily cantered on knowledge management, research dissemination, organizational learning, and technical advocacy.

Currently, as the Policy & Practice and Communication Advisor in LuxOR, she coordinates research uptake strategies and supports communication and outreach efforts. Her role involves providing capacity building and support in identifying evidence gaps in MSF’s within MSF’s operations and the humanitarian policy realm, in engaging different stakeholders and crafting scientific communication material to foster research uptake. She has a keen interest in research and communication ethics, which recently led her to pursue a certification in Global Health Ethics and Equity at Utrecht University. 

Dr Temmy Sunyoto, Senior Operational Research Advisor, LuxOR

Temmy is a medical doctor by training (MD, University of Indonesia), with a Diploma in Tropical Medicine & Hygiene and a Master of Public Health in Disease Control. She holds a PhD in International Health, focusing on access to care for neglected diseases, particularly leishmaniasis in Asia and Africa.  Since joining MSF in 2004 Temmy held different roles (doctor, Project Medical Referent and Medical Coordinator) across several missions (South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, India and Indonesia), both in emergencies and stable contexts. Before joining LuxOR in 2020, she also worked with the WHO, the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, and the Global Health Centre of the Graduate Institute in Geneva. 

In her current role, Temmy holds a diverse research portfolio, encompassing multiple methods and disciplines (medicine, epidemiology, immunology) across different thematic domains:  infectious diseases (specifically Neglected Tropical Diseases and emerging diseases, such as Lassa fever), diagnostics, Research & Development and access to care, child health and nutrition, and health systems strengthening. In particular, as an Operational Research Advisor, she provides support, training, mentoring and technical advice across all stages of research projects. She is also the focal point for case series and research agenda development in the unit. 

Moderation: Annick Goerens, RTL journalist

Journalist and presenter at RTL Radio Lëtzebuerg. Since 2013 freelance for RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg and since 2015 as a permanent
permanent member of the RTL team. After obtaining a BA in Political Science at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, she completed her MA International Journalism at City University London. Prior to her career in Luxembourg, Annick worked for ZDF in Tel Aviv, AFP in Paris and Sky News in London. 

She entered the journalism profession by vocation. Critical thinking and outspokenness come naturally to her. She likes to stress the importance of journalism to a democratic and tolerant society. She strives to produce work that is independent, diverse and critical, to think outside the box, to tackle all kinds of sensitive issues and always get to the root of the problem.

Romain Schroeder,  Education department coordinator “Zentrum fir politesch Bildung"

Romain Schroeder began his professional career (2002-2006) with Caritas Luxembourg. He was responsible for humanitarian projects in Asia and the Middle East and co-authored the publication "Humanitarian Challenges: The Political Dilemmas of Emergency Aid".

Since 2017, he has been active at the Zentrum für politesch Bildung (Centre for Citizenship Education), where he holds the position of Coordinator of the Education Service. His areas of expertise include raising awareness of and combating misinformation, as well as the opportunities and challenges that digitalisation presents to democratic societies. In this context, he has contributed to the development of teaching tools and workshops, given seminars and training courses and led a round table discussion.

Dr Marc Biot, Directeur des opérations, OCB

Marc Biot is one of the two Directors of Operations at MSF OCB since 2018. He joined MSF as a young MD in 1989 and has worked in Afghanistan, the Philippines & Mozambique. He was programme responsible in the nineties supporting programmes in the Horn of Africa, Chad, Afghanistan, Nicaragua & Peru.

After obtaining a Master of Public Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) In 1998, he helped launching ART treatment programmes in various MSF programmes from Thailand to South Africa. He was involved for 8 years in Mozambique where he piloted the first ART programmes and helped developing community strategies for PLHIV, laying the base on what later became the Differentiated Service Delivery strategy. From 2011 to 2018 he was based in Brussels as Operational Coordinator for Southern Africa, India and Latin America.  He is ending his mandate as Director of Operations at MSF OCB on May 17^th 2024.

Joanna Elias, Listen focal point for health promotion - Middle East Medical Unit 

Joanna Elias has been part of MSF since 2019, starting as an IMS Health Promotion Manager. She's worked on missions in South Africa, Lebanon, Nigeria, and Iraq. In 2022, she took on the role of Regional Health Promotion Support Focal Point for the Middle East and North Africa region with MSF OCB, supporting six missions. She's currently based in the Lebanon Branch Office with the Middle East Medical Unit, with a focus on Antimicrobial Resistance. Recently, she also became the MSF Listen focal point for all missions within OCB, along with the OCB Health Promotion Advisor.

Rafael Van den Bergh, chercheur à l'OMS

Bio coming soon