Advisory Board
Professor Mohammad Yunus
Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus is the father of microcredit, the father of social business, the founder of Grameen Bank, and of more than 50 other companies in Bangladesh. He was named as “one of 12 greatest entrepreneurs of our time.”, in Fortune Magazine, March 2012. Born in Bangladesh in 1940, he received a Fulbright Scholarship to study economics at Vanderbilt University, USA in 1965; earning his Ph.D. in economics in 1969. Professor Yunus and Grameen Bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. He is one of seven individuals to have received the Nobel Peace Prize, the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom and the United States Congressional Gold Medal.
Lord Ian McColl of Dulwich
Founder
Dr. Ian McColl, Baron McColl of Dulwich is a surgeon, professor, politician, and Conservative member of the House of Lords. In 1989, he was made a Life Peer for his work for disabled people in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. From 1994-97, he was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Prime Minister John Major and from 1997- 2000, he was a Shadow Minister for Health. He is also a trustee, surgeon, and the chairman of Mercy Ships and frequently operates in the poorest countries of West Africa.
Lord Bernard Ribeiro Of Achimota & Ovington
Founder
Dr. Bernard Francisco Ribeiro is a surgeon who served as President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England from 2005 to 2008. He was appointed a life peer in 2010. In 2012, Lord Ribeiro was confirmed as Chair of the Department of Health’s Independent Reconfiguration Panel, advising the Secretary of State for Health on changes to local health services in England. In 2008, he was awarded the Honorary degree of Doctor of Science by Anglia Ruskin University and an Honorary Fellowship from the American College of Surgeons.
Olajide Ajayi
Dr. Olajide Ajayi is a surgeon, teacher, and advocate for surgical training to combat the global burden of surgical disease, especially in developing countries. He was the past president of the International Federation of Surgical Colleges (IFSC) and past president of the Pan African Association of Christian Surgeons (PAACS). He was the first African to be awarded an honorary fellowship to the American College of Surgeons and sat on the International Relations committee as an executive board member. He has authored numerous publications on the state of surgery in Nigeria and has inspired countless surgical trainees.
Christopher Bem
Founder
Dr. Chris Bem is an ENT and Neck Surgeon, philosopher, and health ecologist. He currently works in Bradford, Yorkshire, UK, working mostly with head and neck cancers and surgical and parathyroid disease. Dr. Bem visits Malawi to teach and help with the development of ENT/audiology services. From 1988-1994 he was senior lecturer in general surgery and trauma at the University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia, and from 1982-3, worked in a rural hospital in Madhya Pradesh, India.
