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September 11, 2024
Living Goods is excited to announce its delegation to the upcoming 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 79) later this month. This event represents a pivotal moment for global leaders, policymakers, and organizations to come together and address pressing issues affecting communities worldwide.
UNGA 79 holds particular significance as global leaders are expected to finalize the international framework the Pact for the Future which will include a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations. These together will outline a comprehensive approach to tackle the most urgent challenges facing humanity today, including climate change, sustainable development, and health equity. This pact emphasizes the need for collaborative action and the mobilization of resources to address systemic inequalities. At Living Goods, we believe that a strong community health workforce, innovative digital tools, and robust government partnerships are key to making these goals a reality.
As part of our participation at UNGA 79, Living Goods will engage with other stakeholders, including governments, NGOs, and private sector leaders, to foster collaboration and share insights on effective strategies for health delivery. The assembly serves as a unique platform to amplify the voices of underserved communities and advocate for policies that prioritize health care that reaches the last mile. We look forward to the dialogues and partnerships that will emerge from this gathering, and we are dedicated to driving impactful change in the health landscape globally, in alignment with the aspirations of the Pact for the Future.
Living Goods’ delegation will be on the ground in New York City September 22 – 27. We invite you to connect with our delegation throughout the week and join us and our partners at side events.
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Hosted by Living Goods
Strengthening Global Health: Living Goods’ Vision for Community-Led Solutions
Date: Sunday, 22 September
Time: 4:00 – 5:30pm EDT
Join Living Goods’ incoming CEO Emilie Chambert and key leaders for an insightful discussion on the future of community health. Enjoy refreshments and hors d’oeuvres, engage with global health visionaries, and hear firsthand about innovative strategies in Burkina Faso and the remarkable momentum in Kenya.
Events with Living Goods Participation
Securing the Future with proCHWs: A timeless investment in health for all
Date: Monday, 23 September
Time: 7:30 – 8:45am EDT
Hosted by the Community Health Impact Coalition, this invitation-only event will explore the transformative potential of salaried, skilled, supervised, and well-equipped CHWs. Hear from frontline CHW advocates, visionary policymakers, and pioneering funders about the strategic actions required to implement proCHW policies. Speakers include:
- Hon. Minister Dr. Robert Lucien Kargougou, Minister of Health, Burkina Faso
- Hon. Minister Dr. Jane Aceng Ocero, Minister of Health, Uganda
Building health workforce resilience: Preparing for tomorrow’s climate and health crises
Date: Tuesday, 24 September
Time: 12:00-14:30 pm EDT
Location: Cornell Club
Join us to hear insights from health workers, NGOs, governments, donors, and multilateral partners on building a resilient, multidisciplinary health workforce better equipped to address challenges and strengthen health systems. Speakers include:
- Hon. Minister Dr. Robert Lucien Kargougou, Minister of Health, Burkina Faso
- Thomas Opiyo Onyango, Country Director, Living Goods Kenya
Managing the convergence of crises, preparing current and future health leaders to meet the pressing needs of climate, conflict and disease
Date: Thursday, 26 September
Time: 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm EDT
Hosted by the Frontline Health Workers Coalition, Living Goods, and key coalition partners, this invitation-only executive roundtable will bring together leaders for a discussion on cultivating health sector leadership in the face of multiple crises. Living Goods’ incoming CEO, Emilie Chambert, will participate.
Meet our 2024 Delegation
Meet our UNGA 2024 delegation and visit our website to learn more about Living Goods’ strategy and activities.
Emilie Chambert, Incoming CEO
Emilie Chambert is Living Goods’ incoming CEO as of January 1, 2025. With over 20 years of experience in public and private sectors — including more than a decade in public health and seven years living and working in Uganda — Emilie is a proven leader in scaling impactful initiatives and engaging with governments across Africa. In her previous role at Living Goods as Chief Program Officer, she drove organizational excellence and expansion, ensuring evidence-based impact, cost efficiency, and government adoption.
Most recently, she led our exciting expansion into Burkina Faso, where the early results are exemplary. Since joining Living Goods in 2014, she has held progressive leadership roles as our Uganda Operations Director, Uganda Deputy Country Director, Uganda Country Director, and Regional Director for Expansion. She got her MBA from EDHEC in Lille, France and is fluent in English, French, and Spanish, which further enhances her ability to work effectively in both anglophone and francophone countries.
Martha Rebour, US Executive Director
Martha Rebour is our new Executive Director, USA, leading our Business Development, Advocacy, and Communications team globally and heading up the U.S. team. Martha brings more than 15 years of executive leadership experience. Most recently, she was the Executive Director of Shot@Life at the United Nations Foundation, where she supported the delivery of more than 100 million life-saving vaccines to children worldwide and grew Shot@Life’s volunteer network from 200 to over 3,000 advocates. Martha is bilingual (French and English), with a master’s degree in French Language. Her expertise in marketing, communications, strategic planning, partnership cultivation, fundraising, and advocacy will be invaluable to our mission.
Thomas Opiyo Onyango, Kenya Country Director
Thomas joined Living Goods as Country Director Kenya in June 2018 and is responsible for driving and executing country-level strategy, team development and representing the organization with key stakeholders. He is a dynamic global health leader and has close to two decades of experience in healthcare. Before joining Living Goods, Thomas built his career in the pharmaceutical world with progressive leadership responsibilities across Africa with Merck and Novartis. His current focus is to effectively implement the new multi-year strategy and specifically enhance Government partnership to drive national impact that leverages digital technology. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biochemistry & a Master’s in Business Administration from Strathmore University.
Tom Sessions, Director of Development
Tom leads the business development team at Living Goods. He is a strategic social innovator with 16 years’ experience in the not-for-profit, commercial and philanthropic sectors. Tom is interested in co-creating relevant and responsive partnerships for the future. He has a wealth of experience engaging businesses around shared value—a core business approach to drive sustainable impacts for both positive commercial and social outcomes. Tom led several funding and partnerships teams across CARE International, working globally with businesses, governments and foundations. He has also worked for UNICEF, small national NGOs and the private sector. He holds a Master’s in Business Management and Sociology
Rosemary Mugwe, Director of Advocacy
Rosemary has recently joined Living Goods and brings impressive background to the role. As a Nonprofit Executive with a legal background, she has applied her expertise to policy, advocacy, and programs to expand healthcare access across Africa. In the past, her work focused on safe surgical care for children, equipping health facilities, building healthcare capacity, and expanding sexual and reproductive health rights. She has led multi-country public health initiatives, driven policy change, and engaged with African Parliamentarians, Ministries of Health, regional bodies, and various stakeholders to influence legislation and operations.
She has served in several leadership roles including as Director for Africa with KidsOR; Chief Executive Officer of the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA); and Regional Policy Coordinator with Ipas Africa Alliance among others.
We look forward to seeing you in New York and working together to advance our shared goals of equitable healthcare and sustainable development.