Dr. Bernd Manfred Gawlik is Portfolio Leader at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and is closely involved in the EU Water Aquis where he provides scientific support

Bernd, who closely interacts with all actors around “water”,has contributed to more than 100 publications. In collaborations with UNEP, the Union for the Mediterranean and other supra-national organisations his work is at the core of social engagement activities and applied sustainability diplomacy, promoted through the RENAISSANCE Concept. The forthcoming innovative mixed-reality publication GATEWAY TO THE FUTURE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN: Water, Energy, Food and the Environment is an expression of this commitment towards the interplay of water with society and its actors.

Christine Nabiryo is the Director of Technical Strategy and Business Development for PATH’s Africa Region. She is in charge of providing strategic technical oversight for health programming and business development in more than 14 African countries spanning Western, Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa. She also works to improve gender equity in programming and integrate climate change into health programming, collaborating with PATH teams, governments, and partners across Africa. Dr. Nabiryo is a seasoned expert in sexual and reproductive health, HIV, and gender-based violence projects with over 25 years of experience in public health. Her experience includes project design, management, research, monitoring, and evaluation in a variety of settings, including public, urban, and rural settings, faith-based organizations, private businesses, and non-governmental organizations.

Born in 1985. I am a clinical microbiologist with sub-specialties in infectious diseases and tropical medicine. Studied in Freiburg (Germany) and Rome (Italy), performed research as well as clinical and diagnostic work in many countries of sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. Engages in Global Health and microbiological diagnostics in resource-constrained settings.

Dr. Street is the Interim Director and a Senior Specialist Scientist at the Environment & Health Research Unit of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC). Over the past decade, Dr Streets research has focused on various aspects of historical and emerging environmental contaminants of concern and the impact on human health. Dr Street has a keen interest in public health issues and policy development. As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Street was instrumental in setting up the SAMRCs wastewater surveillance and research Programme (WSARP) to monitor SARS-CoV-2 RNA trends. WSARP undertakes weekly surveillance across South Africa and collaborates with six partner laboratories. WSARP has now expanded to investigate additional pathogens and contaminants of emerging concern.

Dr Mukhlid Yousif obtained his Ph.D. from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. His Ph.D. work focused on the genomic characterization of hepatitis B virus and its genotypes. He then joined the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa, where he worked in the field of HIV drug resistance surveillance program. He shifted his interest to the surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases where his work focused on polio, measles, and HBV. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he co-established the wastewater genomics syndicate at the NICD where he worked on the wastewater surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 and other vaccine-preventable diseases pathogens. Currently, he consults with Africa CDC/PGI and the programme lead for the wastewater genomics syndicate at the NICD.