Speakers

Patricia Mengech has over three decades of experience in public health. She has worked for USAID since 2004, most recently as the Director of the Health Office for USAID/Nepal. She also worked for USAID in Uganda as the Deputy Health Office Director and PEPFAR and TB Team Lead; in Southern Africa as Health Program/Public-Private Partnership Advisor; and in Ethiopia as Health Systems Strengthening Lead and Senior Private Sector Advisor. Prior to that, Patricia worked for six years in USAID/Washington’s Global Health Bureau.

Before joining USAID, Patricia worked in the United States for Deloitte Emerging Markets on the USAID funded Commercial Market Strategies project, and for Population Services International. She also worked in Nairobi, Kenya for Planned Parenthood Federation of America International’s Africa Regional Office and for the African Medical and Research Foundation.

Since 2023, Ed has led a team focused on advancing Canada’s international assistance priorities in health in Bangladesh. Since joining Global Affairs Canada in 2016, he held a number of positions. He served as First Secretary from 2021-2023 at the Embassy of Canada in Haiti, where he was responsible for Canada’s governance and security programming. Ed Cabrera joined Global Affairs Canada in 2016 where he initially worked in several roles supporting Canada’s network of embassies abroad. Prior to this, Ed completed his Master of Public Service at the University of Waterloo in 2016 and his bachelor’s degree in political science and French in 2014 at McMaster University.

SM Shaikat is a seasoned advocate for SRHR, gender equality, and youth empowerment, bringing over a decade of experience across the Asia-Pacific region. As the Executive Director of SERAC-Bangladesh, a prominent youth-focused rights and development organization, and Secretary General of the Bangladesh National Youth Conference of Family Planning 2024, he leads initiatives to enhance youth and adolescent-friendly family planning and health services in partnership with government agencies. Mr. Shaikat's leadership includes serving as a Women Deliver Young Leader, founding chair of the RHSC Youth Caucus, and country coordinator for IYAFP. His influence also extends globally as a member of organizing committees for the PMNCH Partners Forum 2018 and World Urban Forum. Honored with awards such as ICFP 2022 Youth Trailblazer, Bayer Scholar, 120 Under 40 Youth Leader, and recognition through the US Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program and the Swedish Institute's Leadership program, Mr. Shaikat continues to champion youth-led policy and action for equitable health and rights.

Chief of Party with USAID’s Adolescent Health Activity with over two decades of experience in advocating and delivering high impact, cost-effective strategic partnerships in Public Health. He has proven skills and policy dialogues in leading advocacy engagement with senior Government officials and staff of international /bilateral agencies, in Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Myanmar, India and Kyrgyzstan. Conceptualized and managed mora than 10 international grants as Project Lead with teams from multicultural and multi-country settings. Innovative thinker with core competencies around leading complex programs across difficult and poor resource settings. Education credentials includes Master’s in Public Health from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), University of London and Postgraduate in Rural Management from Xavier’s Institute of Social Services (XISS) and PhD from VU University, Amsterdam. He has more than 20 international peer-reviewed publications in the domain of Public Health and Scientific reviewer of some of the leading international journals. Registered Principal Investigator (PI) at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland. Prestigious Welcome Trust Fellow for 2010 & 2013.

Dr. Abu Jamil Faisel is a distinguished public health physician with a career spanning over 45 years, specializing in family planning, SRHR, and public health service quality in Bangladesh. He holds an MBBS, a Master’s in Public Health from Emory University, and a Diploma in Personnel Management from Dhaka University.

Dr. Faisel’s career includes pivotal roles in reproductive and sexual health, teaching, and clinical services. He brings 31 years of leadership in strategic program planning, management, and governance, alongside significant experience in clinical trials and introducing innovative family planning methods within national programs. His clinical service background further includes nine years of direct family planning provision and training.

As the Country Representative for EngenderHealth Bangladesh for 23 years, Dr. Faisel led a multi-donor, multi-project program aimed at advancing SRHR, Family Planning, and maternal and child health (MCH) services. His leadership facilitated the deployment of over 100 professionals to improve access and quality of clinical contraception, Emergency Obstetric Care, Post-Abortion Care, RTI/STI, and Primary Health Care, particularly in underserved areas.

In his early career with the Bangladesh Fertility Research Program, Dr. Faisel was instrumental in implementing Norplant, a new contraceptive, and establishing family planning training programs that integrated essential service elements. He worked closely with government bodies (MOHFW, DGFP, DGHS, NIPORT), NGOs, and international experts to develop the national Family Planning Manual in Bangla, introducing Bangladesh to the syndromic approach to RTI/STI case management through interpersonal communication.

Dr. Faisel also serves as adjunct faculty at Dhaka University’s Population Sciences Department and in the MPH programs at both the State University of Bangladesh and the American International University of Bangladesh. He has developed online courses focusing on interpersonal communication between patients and providers.

Currently, Dr. Faisel is the President-Elect of the EC at PHAB and a member of the Prime Minister’s National Population Council for Family Planning. Since 2012, he has served as the CSO Focal Person for FP2020/FP2030 in Bangladesh. Recently, he provided consultancy for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, aiding in the Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) for the 5th Health Sector Program. Dr. Faisel is fluent in English and Bangla and proficient in Urdu and Hindi.