Manica Balasegaram

22 August 2022

Dr Manica Balasegaram trained as a medical doctor at the University of Nottingham, where he started his career in internal and emergency medicine. From 2001, he worked as a doctor and researcher in Sub- Saharan Africa and Southern Asia. He also gained experience working in humanitarian emergencies and responses with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
In 2007, Dr. Balasegaram joined the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) as Head of Leishmaniasis Clinical Program. In 2011, he returned to MSF as Executive Director of their Access Campaign. He was appointed Executive Director of GARDP and has led the organization since 2016 through its incubation to an independent legal entity, during which time GARDP launched four programmes and built a skilled and dedicated team with expertise from a range of sectors and backgrounds.

Dr Balasegaram has significant experience in organizational governance and is currently a board member of the Medicines Patent Pool as well as of FIND’s Scientific Advisory Committee. He has also previously served as a Board Member and Secretary of Médecins Sans Frontières (Switzerland).

His experience spans clinical and public health practice in infectious diseases to international work on health policy & access to medicines. He has served on numerous technical and health policy panels, including notably as a Member of the Expert Advisory Group of the UN High Level Panel on Access to Medicines (2015-16) and a Member of the World Health Organization Scientific Advisory Group for the Blueprint on Research & Development Preparedness (2015 and ongoing). With over 20 years’ experience in Global Health, Dr Balasegaram has a proven track record in partnership building, resource mobilization, public and private sector stakeholder management and governance.