AIHA Welcomes New Board Members

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The American International Health Alliance (AIHA), one of the world's foremost proponents of twinning to strengthen health system capacity and train health workers, announces the appointment of two new board members with expertise that will support our vision of a world with access to quality healthcare for everyone, everywhere.

"I'm thrilled to welcome Dr. Ariel Pablos-Méndez and Mr. Richard Berman to AIHA's Board of Directors," said Dr. Dennis Andrulis, Board Chair. "As our world grows increasingly hyper-connected, efforts to shore up fragile health systems in low-income countries and to develop effective – and cost-effective – ways of training health workers are more critical than ever. Their extensive and varied expertise will contribute greatly to AIHA's growth and continued excellence in developing and delivering quality public health interventions."

Dr. Pablos-Méndez, currently a board-certified specialist in internal medicine and a professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, is a public health professional with more than 30 years of clinical and development experience, including leading the Bureau for Global Health at the U.S. Agency for International Development from 2011-2016.

"Global health has seen tremendous progress around the world and building health systems capacity is paramount to sustain those gains and support countries aspiration for universal health coverage," said Dr. Pablos-Méndez. "My career has covered that arc and I am glad to join AIHA in pursuing its important and timely mission."

Mr. Berman brings a unique mix of expertise that combines broad and varied experience in public health, development, higher education, leadership, business management, and social entrepreneurship. He is currently the Associate Vice President for Strategic Initiatives for Innovation and Research at the University of South Florida, where he also teaches in the College of Business and the Institute for Advanced Discovery & Innovation.

"I am very excited to become a part of an organization engaged in such an important issue. I have spent the entirety of my career championing adequate healthcare throughout the world. Access to adequate healthcare should not be a privilege, but rather it is a right," Mr. Berman said, noting, "AIHA understands this principle and I'm ecstatic to partner with them in helping to make this dream a reality."

Welcoming Mr. Berman and Dr. Pablos-Méndez to the AIHA family at today's Board of Directors meeting, AIHA's President & CEO David Greeley said, "We are so fortunate to have their combined wealth of knowledge and expertise on our side as we work to achieve AIHA's vision. Both these public health leaders embody the spirit of AIHA and bring significant talent and energy to our mission of strengthening health systems in developing countries around the globe."

AIHA is a nonprofit organization working to advance global health by helping countries with limited resources build sustainable institutional and health workforce capacity.

Click here for full bios of Dr. Pablos-Méndez, Mr. Berman, and other members of AIHA's Board of Directors.

SOURCE American International Health Alliance