Dr. Zipporah Ali, MD, MPH, Dipl. Pall Care, HonDUniv

Dr Zipporah Ali is a palliative care doctor, working as the Executive Director of Kenya Hospices and Palliative Care Association (KEHPCA).

She has extensive experience in leading organizations and teams: (capacity building, team building, mentoring and supervising); technical experience in public health and palliative care; promoting advocacy and policy development to improve palliative care for life-threatening illnesses such as cancer, HIV/AIDS and non communicable diseases. She also has experience at national, regional and international levels in providing technical assistance to local and international implementing organizations; strategic planning, program design, program planning, implementation and management, including financial and budget oversight and management, program monitoring and evaluation; networking, building partnerships and coalitions, and relationship management.

As well as being a Board Director of the IAHPC, Dr. Ali serves on the boards of several other organizations including Hope for Cancer Kids, International Children’s Palliative Care Network, Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance and Youth Against Cancer in Kenya. She has previously served on the boards of the African Palliative Care Association (APCA) and the Kenya Cancer Association.

Dr. Ali is also involved in advocacy and creating awareness of palliative care in Kenya for children and adults. In her leadership role as the Executive Director for KEHPCA, she has been instrumental in fostering strong relationships with the Ministry of Health to integrate palliative care into government hospitals. She has also been instrumental in advocating for palliative care to be integrated in undergraduate medical and nursing schools in Kenya.

She joined the IAHPC Board in 2010 and has been involved in advocating for pain relief at the global level, as well as taking part in activities that led to the passing of the World Health Organization 2012 Palliative Care Resolution.

Dr. Ali has received international recognition for her work in palliative care. She was among several others who received the African Palliative Care Association (APCA) award for her contribution to palliative care in Africa and her work on the inaugural board of APCA. In 2012, she was made an Honorary Doctor of the University by Oxford Brookes University, UK, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to palliative care, both internationally and locally, and she also received the Individual Advocacy Award from the African Palliative Care Association and Open Society Foundations.

Dr. Ali has three sons and one granddaughter whom she adores and loves to spend time with.

Twitter: @zippyali