Marleen Temmerman

Marleen Temmerman, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, is Director of the Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health, Aga Khan University (AKU) East Africa in Nairobi, and AKU- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Chair on Youth Leadership in Science, Health, Gender and Education. Previously she was Director, Department of Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization in Geneva. Marleen is also the Founding Director of the International Centre of Reproductive Health at Ghent University, Belgium, with sister research organizations in Kenya and Mozambique, and a large global collaborative academic network of 32 universities globally. She has a strong academic and scientific background with over 600 publications and books in the area of women’s health and rights.

In 2007, Marleen was elected Senator in the Belgian Parliament where she was a member of the Commission on Social Affairs, and Chair of the Commission on Foreign Affairs. In that capacity, she was a member of the European Parliamentary Forum, and Chair of the HIV/AIDS Advisory Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. She served as a member of the independent Expert Review Group, convened by UN Secretary- General Ban-Ki Moon, to raise accountability in the Every Woman, Every Child platform, and was a contributor to the Global Strategy for Women's, Children’s and Adolescents' Health 2016–2030.

She brings academic, research, technical, political, governance, management and leadership skills to the table as well as diplomacy, advocacy, fundraising, training and clinical expertise. She has a strong track record of working with governments, multilateral organizations, academia, professional bodies, development agencies, private sector, consultancy agencies, civil society, and non-governmental and faith-based organizations.