Who Are We ?

Patron :

David Bloomer OBE ,FRCOG (HONORIS CAUSA)

David Bloomer OBE is the Founder and Publisher of The Global Library of Women’s Medicine, a charitable and worldwide medical education initiative for health care professionals and community workers supported by a very able global  team of editors and computer programmers. The site is entirely free to all users  He has spent his lifetime publishing medical research and education, has campaigned widely to enhance the availability of expert clinical knowledge particularly in low- and medium-income countries.

David manages The Global Library of Women’s Medicine from his base in the UK, the project is being continuously expanded and increased emphasis is currently being given to the needs of less-resourced countries, with a committee established to explore new initiatives in this regard.

 

 

 

International Adviser :

Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran PhD DSc FRCS FRCOG

Currently, Professor Emeritus of O& G, St George’s, University of London,

Visiting Professor –Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College, London, Foundation Professor of O&G, University of Nicosia.

Has been Professor & Head of Department of O&G; National university of Singapore, University of Nottingham – Derby, St George’s University of London

Author of 300 indexed publications; Author or Editor of 38 books & more than 200 book chapters. Editor in Chief of Best Practise and Research in Clinical Obstetrics and Gynaecology + Emeritus Editor, Global Library of Women’s Medicine –www.glowm.com. Former President of the International Federation of Obstetrics & Gynaecology (FIGO) 2012-2015; the British Medical Association (BMA) (‘13-‘14) & the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) (‘07-‘10)

Hon Doctor of Science of several Universities and Hon Fellow of many Post Graduate O&G Colleges and Societies. Hon Member, National Academy of Sciences, USA. Knight Bachelor in recognition of Services to Medicine & Health Services by Her Majesty the Queen – Birthday Honours List – June 2009. Active citizen award from the President of Cyprus 2019. Recipient of ‘Sri Lanka Ranjana’ National Honours award from HE President of Sri Lanka in 2019.

 

 

Strategy Adviser :

Dr Rakesh Kumar, Chief Advisor, Population Services International
India Country Office, New Delhi

 

 

 

Programme Director :

Rtn. Dr KUHU MAITRA, MBBS, DCH, MD

A Paediatrician and a Public health expert with thirty-five years of Global Health Experience in the area of MNCH service delivery programmes. Dr Maitra has been actively involved in spearheading new business, providing technical assistance and managing programs designed to deliver and expand access to quality primary and reproductive health care services in Asia, the Middle East and Africa for several International Agencies. She has led the design and management of health systems strengthening programs designed to improve the performance of the health sector in developing country settings. She has collaborated and worked with donors such as USAID, DFID, AusAID, ADB, UNFPA, UNICEF and Bill & Melinda Gates/ Packard Foundation-funded family planning, reproductive health and maternal and child health policies and programs. Dr Maitra has directed and participated in programmes that aim at improving the capacity of the health workforce in different government, non-governmental and private-sector based settings. Her background ranges from working with public sector health care delivery to assisting NGOs and the private commercial sector to ensure better access to quality health care.

Founder & Programme Director Emeritus:

Himansu Basu, MBBS, PhD, FRCS, FRCOG

Himansu is an Obstetrician /Gynaecologist with expertise in maternal health as a clinician, educator, researcher and strategist. He served in senior positions at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Royal Society of Medicine, General Medical Council.

Himansu joined Rotary in 1980, served as District Governor, Founder Chairman of Rotarian Doctors Fellowship, Medical Director, RFPD, RI Presidents Representative, Foundation Cadre Coordinator, member of RI Networking and Services Group Committee. He is Founder/Programme Director of CALMED and a recipient of several international awards including Service Above Self Award.

He is passionate about the elimination of preventable maternal and new-born mortality in underserved communities

 

Advisory Board:

Dr Niranjan Bhattacharya,

MBBS, MD (Ob/ Gyn)(Cal), MS (Gen Surg)(Cal), DSc (Med Science)(Cal), FACS (USA)

Visiting Professor by the University of Boston USA, Author of six scientific books on cord blood, immunology and feto-maternal health.

Dr Subhas Mukherjee Memorial Chair Professor and Head of the Dept of Regenerative Medicine and Translational Science Calcutta School of Tropical medicine, Calcutta, India

Director General, Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine’s 1^st Public Cord Blood Bank in the country.(www.stmkolkata.org)

Academic responsibility of the West Bengal University of Health Sciences Course Coordinator: Fellowship in Regenerative Medicine and Translational Sciences.(FRMTS), M Phil ,PhD ,MD and DM programme in Regenerative Medicine and Translational Science., Calcutta University. Convener Dr B.C.Roy Bio Repository at Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine

 

 

 

Jan Lucas Ket

Retired in 2011 from Waterland Hospital in Purmerend, where he had been a paediatrician for 30 years — treating 20,000 children and one baby gorilla — and served as chair of the hospital’s medical staff. He had participated in national and regional teams and networks for paediatrics and public health. He is now vice president of the Waterland School for Music.

Jan Lucas coordinated logistics for a packaged grant scholarship awarded to an Indian sanitation official to study at the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education in the Netherlands. “As Rotarians, we are lucky because we have had opportunities,” Ket says. “I think the point of Rotary is to bring chances to others.”

A Rotarian since 1988, Dr.  Ket has been a member of The Rotary Foundation Cadre of Technical Advisers and a lecturer on Rotary’s role in preventive health care for mothers and children at various international conferences. During his year as club president, he co-founded the Rotary Club of Jihlava, Czech Republic.

Dr. Ket and his wife, Milou, have hosted Rotary Youth Exchange students and Group Study Exchange members. They are Major Donors, Benefactors, and Bequest Society members.

 

Rtn Nayan Patel, PHF

Born and brought up in Kenya, Nayan completed his higher education in the UK at Trinity College, London and at Manchester Business School specialising in International Banking. Rotarian Nayan Patel is a risk management specialist with over thirty-five years of experience in International Banking.

He currently serves on the advisory boards of Rotary India Literacy Mission, the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development at Somerville College, the University of Oxford and Mpower Minds India. Nayan is also a Trustee of the Council for Education in the Commonwealth and Lepra UK as well as serving as a Patron of Medical Aid Films.

A committed social entrepreneur and a change leader, Nayan has expertise in building strategic links between organisations.

Nayan is a recipient of the Service above Self award of Rotary International – he is a Paul Harris Fellow.

 

Hamish Neil Macdonald, MB ChB (Glas), FRCOG, PhD (Leeds)

Postgraduate training in Glasgow, London, Leeds and Baltimore.  National Service in British Military Hospitals in Singapore, Malaya and Hong Kong. A medical officer with the military climbing expedition to the Khumbu region of Nepal

Consultant Obstetrician/gynaecologist to Leeds Teaching Hospitals/senior lecturer the University of Leeds. Latterly Medical Director at St James’s University Hospital, Leeds. Chair/member of numerous Leeds and Yorkshire NHS regional and district management structures

Yorkshire Regional adviser to the RCOG and member of other Royal College advisory groups. Honorary member of the Gynaecological Visiting Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

Ten years as Chair of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals Charitable Foundation during which the Yorkshire Cancer Centre £10m. Appeal gave Leeds a unique research collaboration with Elekta, developing new radiotherapeutic equipment and techniques for the treatment of many cancers. An Institute of Molecular Medicine was also enabled and the first Da Vinci Surgical Robot outside London was introduced.

Passionate about structured vocational training and building partnership for the elimination of preventable maternal mortality.

 

BALKRISHNA INAMDAR, MBBS, MD

Gynaecologist, Obstetrician and Endoscopic Surgeon with extensive experience of 35 years in MCH.

Experienced in planning and organizing 8 Vocational Training Teams in Maternal and Child Health.

Has extensive experience in planning, implementing and reporting of many Global Grants valued at more than $500,000; Training Leader for Rotary International Assembly 2017; Is a Certified Teacher for Maharashtra Medical Council for MCH; Rotarian Past Governor of RI District 3140 (2012-13)

Dr. Inamdar has special interest and extensive experience in following areas

a) strategies for MMR reduction;

b) Maternal Health

c) strategies of managing maternal complications in a low-resource setting

d) Paediatric Heart Surgeries. Under his leadership, RI District 3140 supported more than 1000 such surgeries in KDA Hospital in Mumbai.

He is passionate about eliminating preventable maternal and newborn mortality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Urs Herzog, MD, PhD (Basel)

A surgeon with expertise in colorectal surgery published many peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Since 1995 he is Rotarian in RC Allschwil-Regio Basel (Switzerland) and served as District Governor twice. He retired early from his professional life and since then he focussed on international Rotary projects. As a polio survivor, he started as a PolioPlus National Advocacy Adviser for Switzerland and ended up as EndPolio Now Zone Coordinator for Benelux, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany ( Central Europe.)

He remains involved with many projects in India. Colombia, Gambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya and Burkina Faso – As a member of the Health Major Gift Initiative. Coordinated with WHO, he continues to contribute to projects for the elimination of preventable maternal and child mortality in countries, especially in East Africa. He remains passionate about the CALMED programme

Urs is a recipient of the Service above Self award, Citation for Meritorious Service, and Regional and International Service award for a Polio-free World of Rotary International. He is a Member of the Paul Harris Society and a Member of Arch Klumph Society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prof Dr Krishnendu Gupta
MD ,FICMCH, FICOG, FRCPI , FRCOG .
Professor & Head, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Vivekananda Institute of Medical Sciences, Kolkata, INDIA
Adjunct Professor,  Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, INDIA
Chairperson, Indian College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (ICOG), 2016
Vice President, The Federation of Obstetric & Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI), 2011
President, The Bengal Obstetric & Gynaecological Society (BOGS), 2013
Chair, Sexual & Reproductive Health Committee,  (AOFOG), 2019 – 2021
FOGSI Representative to AOFOG, 2020 – 2021Member, Arch Klumph Society – Trustees Circle, TRF: May 2018
Rotary Foundation Cadre of Technical Advisors 2018 – 2021
Best Rotarian of the Year 2017 – 2018 in RI District 3291
Rotary Foundation Cadre of Technical Advisors 2018 – 2021
Best Rotarian of the Year 2017 – 2018 in RI District 3291

 

 

 

 

Pr. Pierre J. Hoffmeyer MD, Dr hc 

After medical studies and speciality training (Geneva (CH) Vancouver (CDN), Rochester Min.) appointed in 1998 Professor and Chair of Orthopaedics in Geneva and in 2007 Chair of the Department of surgery. Retired in 2015 as Professor emeritus of the University of Geneva. Past president of the Swiss Orthopaedic Association and of the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Trauma (EFORT). Editor in chief EFORT Open Reviews. Author of 400 publications, reviews and book chapters. President Rotary Club of Geneva (District 1990) 2017-2018 and Rotary International representative to the WHO since July 2018. 

Passionate about implementing preventable maternal and child mortality reduction strategies Director of Skills Training Lab at the Geneva University Hospital.

 

 

 

Prof Douglas Donald McMillan MD, FRCPC, FAAP

Professor Emeritus, University of Calgary and Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada

Past President- Rotary Club of Halifax, Canadian Paediatric Society, Irish and American Paediatric Society, District VIII Perinatal Section of the American Academy of Pediatrics. International Paediatric Society 2016 Congress

Currently a member of the International Pediatric Association Standing Committee, Canadian Neonatal Network Board, Canadian Neonatal Foundation Board

Previous activities-  academic career as a Neonatologist with appointments as Division Head and as Director of the Fellowship programs in Calgary and Halifax, assistance with development and testing of Helping Babies Survive programs (AAP), teaching ( primarily related to newborn care) in 20 countries

Current activities- Rotary Cadre member, global health of mothers and babies with development of a combined Kangaroo Mother Care and Quality Improvement Learning Program to Save Newborn Lives

<doug.mcmillan@dal.ca>

 

 

 

Dr Prakash Vaghela 

Empathetic and detail-oriented professional with 33+ years of experience in promoting women’s health and nutrition within diversified healthcare institutes, while ensuring compliance with established policies and procedures. Adept at managing IT innovations, Health Management Information System (HMIS), Community Health programs, preparing budget plans, developing programs/proposals, devising strategies, raising funds, allocating resources, and conducting HR management. Performance-driven leadership style with ability to coach, motivate, and facilitate team members in achieving unprecedented results. Skilled in building effective working relationships with cross-functional teams, families, patients, and communities to augment the achievement of forecasted goals and objectives. Organized, structured, and proactive approach to meet deadlines; able to work well under pressure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr Akhil Maheshwari (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akhil_Maheshwari) is a member of the Metro-Bethesda Rotary Club in the United States. He is a neonatologist by training and has served in various academic leadership positions over the last decade, including at Johns Hopkins University. He is currently serving as the Chair of the Global Newborn Society (https://www.globalnewbornsociety.org), an organization that is now active in 122 countries; and is serving as the Editor-in-Chief of an in-development scientific journal, the Newborn. He is a well-recognized physician-scientist who has published over 130 well-received papers (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/akhil.maheshwari.1/bibliography/public/) with another 10 in review; published 50 book chapters; and 5 textbooks (with 5 currently in development). His own research has been focused on the mechanisms of inflammation in newborn infants. He is deeply interested in efforts to improve MCH healthcare all over the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Professor Dr. med. Michael Heesen

Departmental Head Anaesthesia, Professor, Personal Chair, Baden hospital, a teaching hospital of Zurich University, Switzerland.

Specialist titles/board affiliations in Germany, GB and Switzerland

-Anaesthesia, Intensive Care Medicine, European Diploma of Intensive Care Medicine, Pain Therapy, associate editor of the Journal Anaesthesia, the official journal of the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland, Content editor of the Cochrane Anaesthesia Review Group, Member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Obstetric Anesthesia  2017 -2021

 

Scientific Interests

-Obstetric and regional anaesthesia, more than 100 PubMed entries

-Epidemiology and meta-analyses (Author of meta-analyses including Cochrane review), lead author of a consensus statement in obstetric anaesthesia for the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (AAGBI)

-Invited lectures at meetings of the European Society of Anaesthesiology (ESA), the European Society of Regional Anaesthesia (ESRA), the Society of Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP) of the USA, the Austrian Anaesthesia Society

He has extensive experience in his chosen specialised areas in Germany, the US, Switzerland, and The Netherlands.

Prof Michael is passionate about the role of structured training leveraging digital technology in the reduction of avoidable maternal and child deaths, especially in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa

 

 

Technology Adviser:

 

Hari Krishna Neupane (IT Solution Architect at Nuance Communication Inc. and Technical Advisor at Rotary International). Hari has 15 years of experience in ICT project design, implementation and management across multiple industries and sectors. He is currently responsible for the design and implementation of Nuance’s corporate intranet portal, messaging and collaboration system and Cloud solution for their global employees and customers. He is also working on community development projects in Nepal through Rotary International and the Society of Nepalese Engineers in the UK.

 

 

Technical Consultant | Web developer :

Sudhanshu Malla is a technical consultant and developer of CALMED Rotary website and a graduate of the University of the West of England, Bristol. Sudhanshu studied Software Engineering for Business at UWE, Bristol for his undergraduate level. He has been volunteering to monitor and develop CALMED rotary’s website and has been promoting us on social platforms. He did a year placement as Software Engineer at Technoferry Int.

He is also responsible for designing and developing websites for other charitable organisations and projects as well. He has been awarded Dean’s list award for two consecutive years of studies for his academic excellence and UWE Bristol Futures Award. 

Prior to this, his early education has been in Nepal where he studied A-level equivalent in the Science stream. He has been actively sharing ideas for better improvement of CALMED rotary’s website, user interaction and interface. 

 

 

 

 

 

Digital Marketing Consultant:

Prashant Kumar, slated for an Executive Diploma in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Oxford in 2025, is the Strategy Adviser for CALMED Rotary. With over ten years of digital marketing experience, he specializes in project management, social media, analytics, and content marketing. Prashant integrates technology with marketing strategies to raise awareness and spearheads impactful digital transformation initiatives. His dedication to ongoing learning ensures innovative, data-driven strategies that steer CALMED Rotary toward enhanced digital presence and sustainable growth.

 

 

 

 

Administrator:

Francis Hodge has been a Rotarian since 1996, a member of RC Hailsham, Rotatory District 1120 in England. After a career in marketing and public relations he sold his business in 2008, and since then has devoted a great deal of his  time to Rotary. Club President in 2009 and 10, followed by three years as District Public Image Committee Chair.He has a passion for hands on vocational service. Francis’ overseas involvements include VTT membership to Western  India, teaching English in Kyrgyzstan, and the funding and construction of sanitation facilities, also in India.  His particular interest is in community mobilisation through the awareness of health-related issues. He contributed to much of the publicity related to the CALMED programme.

He has worked with Rotary Foundation projects in various capacities for over six years. He was awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship in recognition of his  commitment.

 

 

Training Team :

Charles Cox OBE MB BS FRCS(Ed) FRCOG

Retired Obstetrician and Gynaecologist (2018)

Retired Colonel RAMC(V) active deployments Iraq, Afghanistan

Consultant Advisor to Surgeon General

Founder Managing Obstetric Emergencies and Trauma course

Three edited books on Obstetric and Gynaecological emergencies

Field Hospital Mosul 2017

Lectured/taught/operated Iraq, Kurdistan-Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, Abu Dhabi, Egypt, Lebanon, Israel, Haiti, Kenya, Liberia, South Africa and Nigeria.

Examiner Diploma in the Medical Care in Catastrophes Society of Apothecaries.

 

 

 

Miss Nutan Mishra M.B.B.S, MD, FRCOG., PHF

Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Bucks Healthcare NHS Trust, Obstetric lead for Clinical Governance

Main interests include high-risk pregnancy, Perinatal mental health and Colposcopy ( Accredited).

Examiner for Part 3 MRCOG and OSCE examiner for Oxford Medical students.

Author of book chapters on Post-partum Haemorrhage and Rupture of Uterus.

Current facilitator for Basic surgical skill course, MRCOG Part 3 OSCE course, a course on Basic Emergency Obstetric Care and Newborn care ( Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine).

Passionate about reducing preventable maternal death in low resource countries

 

 

 

 

 

Dr Santanu Acharya MBBS MD FICOG MSc FRCOG

Santanu is a consultant obstetrician and gynecologist at the University Hospital Crosshouse, Scotland and Person Responsible for the Ayrshire Fertility Unit. He is also a specialist reproductive medicine consultant at the Glasgow Centre for Reproductive Medicine.

He is the Honorary Senior Lecturer, Medical school, University of Glasgow and is actively involved in teaching undergraduate training.

He is actively involved in various Royal College of Obstetrics & Gynecology sub-committees e.g. Standard Setting, MRCOG Courses & Exams, Assessment, MRCOG 1 & 2 Question paper setting panels.

He also serves as a General Medical Council Associate in the Fitness to Practice panel undertaking Performance assessments for doctors and a PLAB examiner.

He has authored many articles in peer reviewed journals and book chapters and is also actively involved in various research projects. His Master’s research project on oocyte donation was awarded the Max Hamilton prize at the University of Leeds.

His passion is to train medical and nursing professionals in low resourced countries. He has been part of the CALMED projects and was bestowed with the prestigious Paul Harris Fellowship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr Sameer A Umranikar- MBBS, MD, DNB, FRCOG, FICOG, MSc

Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, Southampton

He has interests in reducing maternal mortality and has extensive experience in managing high-risk pregnancies and labour. He is the Lead for Simulation training in Obstetrics & Gynaecology in the Wessex Deanery. He has been a member of the VTT Rotary program for CALMED which is a training program aimed to reduce maternal mortality in developing countries.

He has a master’s degree in advanced Endoscopic Surgery from the University of Surrey and a Diploma from the University of Auvergne, France in Minimal Access Surgery. He is the UK Director for the Ian Donald School of Ultrasound. He is Preceptor for Hysteroscopy and Benign Abdominal Surgery for the Advanced training module of the RCOG.

Mr Umranikar has co-authored a number of papers in international peer-reviewed journals and has presented at national and international conferences as an invited speaker

 

 

 

 

 

Prabha Sinha, MBBS, DGO, FRCOG, MRCPI, Dip in Advanced Obstetrics USS, Dip in managing health services, Dip in Med Ed for Doctors and Dentist, Qualification for Educational Supervisor (QUESP) KSS Deanery

Working as a Professor and HOD at Oman Medical College. Worked for the NHS for nearly 32 years.

RCOG/MRCOG 2 courses and examiner. Peer Reviewer of many Green-top Guidelines and of scientific abstracts for the RCOG world congress.

Published widely in the subject including invited speakers in many international conferences and reviewer of several journals.

Charity work:  RCOG Global-Resilience project in Uganda.LSSEOC courses internationally to meet the millennium goal (MG2015) have visited North rift valley Kenya, Cambodia, Sierra-Leon and others. A core member of VTT since 2014 and helped in producing manuals for facilitators and participants and received the Paul Harris award in 2017

 

 

 

DR REETA JHA, MBBS, MD, FRCOG

Undergraduate and postgraduate from Bihar, India in the eighties. Then moved to the UK, obtained MRCOG, pursued Specialist training and got Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training in Obstetrics & Gynaecology in 1998. Since then Worked as a Consultant for 20 years at Hull and York Teaching Hospital, and Royal Free London Hospitals as Obstetric Lead. Since retirement from NHS, had been involved in maternal and child mortality reduction programme through training. Recognised as a Master Trainer for Emergency Obstetric skills & Newborn Health for RCOG and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and have trained 410 health professionals across the world, namely at Bangladesh, India, Kenya & Uganda.

Passionate about assisting and contributing to initiatives for reduction of maternal deaths

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Country Co-ordinators: