Genesis is an Associate Professor of Perinatal Mental Health and the Executive Dean for the School of Nursing at the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS) in Malawi. He is a holder of a PhD from University of the Western Cape in South Africa. He is the founding Member of African Alliance in Maternal Mental Health. He is the Editor in Chief for the Malawi Journal of Nursing and Midwifery. He is the Lead Person or PI for multiple projects including eMAMA at KUHeS, INTERSECT Malawi, the Evidence and Impact Group for the IMNH Community of Practice in Perinatal Mental Health, Generations of Malawi Project & Group Antenatal Care Project.

Ms. Selormey is an Assistant Research Scientist and a Bioethicist at Kenya's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and holds a PhD in Public Health. She has over a decade of experience in Biomedical research and research ethics management. She also specialises in the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of genomic, biomedical, and global health research. Her work spans key regional and international initiatives, including the COUNTDOWN and EDCTP projects. She has contributed to the development of ethical guidelines for emerging technologies, such as gene-drive mosquito interventions, under the West African Integrated Vector Management (WA-IVM) program and has mentored others in the Bioethics space. Ms. Selormey has held leadership roles in the H3Africa consortium and serves on the UNESCO Working Group on Open Science Policy. She has published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at international conferences. Her current research interests include the ethical, legal, and social dimensions of genomic research and biobanking, global health, biomedical research, and the governance of Institutional Review Boards (IRB).

Kestone (♂) is a Mental Health Lecturer and Researcher at the University of Zambia's School of Nursing Sciences, within the Department of Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing. He holds a MSc in Mental Health and Psychiatry and a BSc in Nursing with a major in Mental Health and Psychiatry, both from the University of Zambia. His research focuses on mental health, therapeutic interventions, health worker well-being, nursing education, and digital professionalism. He has actively contributed to various research projects and has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Stella Emmanuel Mushy is a Lecturer in Midwifery and Women’s Health and Head of the Community Health Nursing Department at MUHAS, Tanzania. She holds a Ph.D. in Midwifery and Women’s Health from St. Luke’s International University, Japan. Dr. Mushy is a global health researcher with expertise in implementation science and currently serves as CoInvestigator on three NIH-funded projects and Principal Investigator for an NIH-funded NIMART project. She also leads a Gilead-funded study (2025–2027) integrating HIV services with economic empowerment for people with substance use disorders in Sober houses in Arusha region, Tanzania. A former Afya Bora Consortium Fellow in Global Health, her research focuses on sexual and reproductive health, including disability, FGM/C, oncology nursing, and HIV prevention.

Dr. Dlamini is a researcher, and nurse-midwife with a PhD in Nursing and over 7 years of research experience on perinatal mental health and maternal health issues. In addition to her clinical and academic roles, she mentors early-career researchers through national health research mentorship programmes. She is passionate about bridging the gap between clinical care and evidence-based practice in low-resource settings. Dlamini is much committed to implementing programmes to better the pregnancy and postpartum experience for all mothers and their families.

Vongai Zavazava is a dedicated and passionate woman, for Maternal, Paternal and Child mental health advocate at the Society for Pre and Post Natal Services (SPANS) in Zimbabwe. With her experience in the mental health sector, she has developed a deep understanding of the complexities surrounding mental wellbeing. Vongai is also a board member and part of the conference planning team for the International Conference on Maternal Mental Health in Africa (ICAMMHA). She believes in the power of teamwork and collaboration to drive societal change. Through her work, Vongai aims to amplify voices, challenge stigma, and foster inclusive communities that prioritize mental health.

Elizabeth Agnes Mwangala is a Malawian Specialist Nurse in Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing (MSCNMHP), and a Nursing and Midwifery Officer at Thyolo District Hospital in the Ministry of Health (MOH), Malawi. She is a holder of a Master of Science Degree in Mental Health (Mental Health Nursing) obtained at the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS), School of Nursing in Malawi. She is the Co-Investigator for the International Survey of Childbirth-related Trauma (INTERSECT-Malawi) under the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS) in Malawi, that aimed to examine childbirth-related trauma and PTSD in a Malawi context. Her responsibilities, among others are leading in the provision of Mental Health & Psychiatric Nursing services utilizing available standards; collaborating with internal and external stakeholders in matters related to Mental Health & Psychiatric Nursing services in serving patients and their families. She is also geared to developing programmes, managing, and policy making for the implementation of Perinatal Mental Health / Maternal Mental Health programmes in Malawi, Africa and beyond.

Lonia is an associate professor at the University of Zambia. She is a nurse by background, and received her PhD in 2010. Lonia was previously the assistant Dean and then department head at the School of Medicine, and in 2017 the Ministry of Health appointed her as their director of the Department of Nursing and Midwifery. Lonia has a wide research portfolio in mental health nursing and nursing education. She has led international projects including eMAMA and Mental Health Gap Action Programme. She has also led local projects aimed to improve nursing education and practice. ​

Kabwe is registered nurse with a specialisation in Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing. She currently holds the position of Lecturer at the University of Zambia, where she also serves as the International Link Coordinator for the School of Nursing Sciences and the Overall Coordinator of Undergraduate Programmes at the Institute of Distance Education (IDE). Currently, she is engaged in the eMAMA Project, which focuses on developing postgraduate curricula in maternal mental health in collaboration with six international partner countries. She is also a participant in the FAME Project, which involves conducting workshops for students on maternal mental health across four countries.

Fortunatus is an Assistant Lecturer under the department of Bioethics and Health Professionalism at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), Tanzania. He teaches numerous topics of Bioethics to undergraduate and post graduate students. Also, he is involved in mentorship and supervision of research for both, undergrad and postgrad. His interest in research has been in area of clinical and research ethics, environmental ethics, and philosophy of medicine. He has participated in several projects addressing early detection of children with sickle cell and parents at risk of having children with sickle cell. He has also participated in Dartmouth/MUHAS Research Ethics Training.

Desire is a Burundian Medical Doctor (University of Burundi) Epidemiologist (MSc, University of The Witwatersrand, Johannesburg) with an additional MSc training in Health Economics and Decision Science (University College London, UCL) and a PhD candidate carrying out research about Maternal and Newborn Health care delivery and Health System Strengthening from the University of Oxford (expected to graduate in October 2025). Burundi is a Faculty Member in the School of Medicine of the University of Burundi where he teaches medical students and medical specialists subjects linked to epidemiology and biostatistics, health systems strengthening, health economics, and research methods. Burundi is also a regular WHO MNCH consultant with over 9 years of experience providing MNCH expertise to WHO Geneva HQ, AFRO, and many countries in AFRO. His research focuses on examining the health system and facility-level challenges that undermine provision of quality care to mothers and newborns and developing evidence-based, empirically driven, and cost-effective interventions aimed at improving quality MNH care and impacting policy and practice reform.

Cox Lwaka Tamba is an experienced statistics lecturer at Egerton University, Kenya and data analyst, boasting over 15 years of experience in teaching, data analysis and research. With a Ph.D. from Nanjing Agricultural University, he focuses on research and analysis of big data problems. Cox’s work has resulted in development of several R statistical packages and publishing in top scientific journals. Besides his teaching and research work, he is a mentor; mentoring young professionals in his field and in mathematics.

Phadaless Phiri Sinkamba is a Lecturer at the University of Zambia, School of Nursing Sciences, in the Department of Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing. She holds a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration with Sociology. Specializing in Public Administration, Human capital management, and Labour Relations, she has extensive experience in teaching and research. She is passionate about strategic management, human capital management, labour relations, and public policy.

Renatha is a paediatrician, bioethicist and lecturer at the Department of Bioethics and Health Professionalism, MUHAS University. she started her career as a medical officer at Kishapu district council working with both inpatient and outpatients, then she was shifted to Shinyanga regional referral hospital as medical specialist in Paediatrics. She was then transferred to MUHAS as lecturer in Paediatrics. In 2017 she was transferred to Bioethics department. Dr. Renatha is among the five MBE fellows in MUHAS who received Bioethics training from University of Pennsylvania to build MUHAS capacity in Bioethics teaching. She is among the 15 participants of Ethics Teaching Training by UNESCO which took place at MUHAS December 2016. She has conducted trainings, workshops and supportive supervision to both primary and secondary health facilities in Tanzania on reproductive and child health services. She teaches Bioethics, Professionalism and Paediatrics and child health to both undergraduates and post graduate students at MUHAS. Her research interest is ethics in paediatrics care especially adolescents with chronic diseases and reproductive and child health. She completed her PhD in bioethics in 2024 at MUHAS.

Roland is an Assistant Lecturer in the department of Bioethics and Health Professionalism at MUHAS. He is a Philosopher and Bioethicist. He holds master degree of bioethics from Muhimbili University of health and Allied Sciences. He teaches clinical ethics, research ethics, philosophy of bioethics, logic and critical thinking, public health ethics, Global ethics, framing bioethics to both undergraduate and postgraduate students, mentoring and supervising MBE students in their attachment, proposal development, data collection and thesis report writing.

Dr Joël Djatche Miafo is a clinical psychologist, psychotherapist and clinical supervisor at Uni-Psy et Bien-Être in Cameroon. He has worked in the field of perinatal mental health (clinical and research) for 11 years. He is also the founder and head manager for *UniPsy*

Alice is the head of the nursing department, and a lecturer at Egerton University. She is also a PhD student at the University of Nairobi. She has strong leadership, collaboration and networking skills, she has successfully led teams in actualizing various projects; the 'Helping Babies Program' by Rotary International, University of Uttah, Nakuru County Health department. She has been involved in collaborations with teams from Israel Universities and Organizations (Technion, Tel Aviv and Mashav), United States of America (University of Uttah, University of Nebraska Medical Centre), Rotary International and Liverpool Tropical School of Medicine (Make it Happen project). She is a member of Africa coordinating Centre for the Abandonment of FGM (ACCAF) that champions for the abandonment of FGM/C in the African region within one generation through ‘The Girl Generation Africa Led Movement’ (TGG-ALM). She previously served as a member of TransNzoia County health transformation taskforce, leading two sub-teams within the taskforce; Health service delivery and Health products and technologies.

Chileshe Mwaba- Siwale (MSc) is a Registered Nurse Midwife. She holds a BSc in Nursing and a Master of Science in Human Anatomy. She is a lecturer  at the University of Zambia. She is also head of Department for Basic and Clinical Nursing Sciences and the chairperson for Quality Assurance for the school. During her tenure of Office as Assistant Dean Undergraduate, she facilitated the approval of multiple programmes. She is also part of the team involved in knowledge translation  to inform policy development) under the Zambia Forum for Health Research (ZAMFOHR) through the support of IDRC. She is currently the grant holder of a project looking at awareness and intention of young male adults to utilize sexual reproductive health services.

Masunga is a Lecturer and Mental Health Nurse Specialist in the Department of Clinical Nursing at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He has expertise in teaching, leadership, and research collaborations to serve as a research team member for various projects. For the past eight years, he has contributed to several clinical and community-based mental health promotion, treatment and prevention programs in Tanzania.

Dr. Mduduzi C. Shongwe is a public health specialist, a state registered nurse-midwife, a Senior Lecturer and Acting Head of Midwifery Science Department in the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eswatini (UNESWA), where he also teaches Research methods, Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Applied research and evidence-based practice. He holds a PhD in Public Health (Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Social and behavioural science) from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan, a MSc in Public Health Nursing from Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan, and a Bachelor of Nursing Science in Advanced Medical-Surgical Nursing with Midwifery from UNESWA, Mbabane, Eswatini. Dr. Shongwe has more than 10 years of clinical, research, and teaching experience. Between 2017-2023, he served as a member of the Eswatini Health and Human Research Review Board of the Ministry of Health. His research interests include socio-behavioural determinants of health, adolescent delinquency, parent-child processes, risky sexual behaviour, sexual violence, and reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child, and adolescent health (RMNCAH). He has successfully supervised more than 50 undergraduate students, and more than 18 postgraduate fellows and more than 15 postgraduate students. He has published several peer-reviewed articles in international refereed journals and has presented numerous scientific papers in local and international conferences. He is currently an Academic Editor for PLOS ONE.

Linos Muvhu is a Keynote Speaker, a global advocate for perinatal, paternal and child mental health. My interest in perinatal mental health spans over 20 years. He founded Society for Pre and Post Natal Services (SPANS), International Conference on Maternal Mental Health in Africa (ICAMMHA) and Society for Pre and Post Natal Services Vocational Training Institute. He is the African Ambassador International Father's Mental Health Day (IFMHD). Linos Muvhu has written many abstracts, several stories, several publised papers and articles. Linos was awarded scholarships to attend The Marce Society Conferences, Population Support International conferences (PSI), International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), International Maternal Newborn Conference (IMNHC) and FIGO.