Curious to learn more about this year's keynote speaker? Here's a brief biography of our speaker, Dr. Ruben del Prado:
Dr. del Prado graduated as a medical doctor from the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the University of Suriname in 1984. He obtained his Masters Degrees in Health Policy and Management, and in Behavioral Sciences, from the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, in Baltimore, Maryland in 1987.
He has had extensive training in epidemiology (USA) and health systems governance (Norway), while he has worked extensively as a trainer himself and as consultant for PAHO/WHO, the European Union and Johns Hopkins University, throughout the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific.
Dr. del Prado is the former Director of the Suriname National AIDS Programme (1988to1996), after which he founded and became the Head of the Department of Public Health of the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the “Universiteit van Suriname,” in addition to being Assistant Dean for Medical Education and lecturer in clinical preventive medicine.
In 1999 he joined the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) as Inter-Country Programme Advisor for the Caribbean, covering 23 countries and territories in the French, Spanish, Dutch and English speaking Caribbean.
He was the UNAIDS Country Coordinator in Uganda from 2002 until 2005, after which he was charge of UNAIDS Planning and Programme Implementation in India until his re-assignment as UNAIDS Country Coordinator (UCC) in Guyana, in October 2006.
