Who We Are

With the support of the BC Children's Hospital Foundation, BC Children's and Women's Hospital established the Institute for Global Health in 2023.
The Centre for International Child Health (CICH) was established in 1994 at BC Children’s Hospital (BCCH) within PHSA to serve as a leadership and coordinating body for international initiatives and positioned BC Children’s as a key contributor to global child and women’s health. Over the last several years, the faculty and staff at BC Children's and Women's Hospital (C&W) and partners have been working together to re-envision CICH as an institution that works across C&W. To this end, we have created a new Institute for Global Health at BC Children’s and Women’s Hospital (IGH) that has a shared vision and strategy centred on our commitment to equity in health globally.  

The health and wellbeing of children, women, and people everywhere, independent of geographical borders, is vital to the health of the world. The BC Children’s and Women’s Hospital is recognized as one of the world’s foremost children’s and women’s health-care institutions. We have a rich history in global health innovation and strengthening local and international capacity through the exchange of knowledge, skills, and appropriate technologies. Our members are committed to implementing the most effective interventions for improving the health of communities and often integrate advocacy, education, and capacity building efforts in local and global contexts. 

What We Do

Mission & vision

Our mission is to mobilize health professionals in British Columbia and internationally to collaborate in improving global women's, newborn, and child health. Our vision is partnering to advance women's and children's health globally.

Strategic priorities

  • Build capacity through collaborative and sustained partnerships
  • Expand global health education opportunities for residents and fellows, and contribute to health workforce education at partnering institutions
  • Enhance global health research through training, mentorship and reverse innovation opportunities
  • Strengthen the global health community at BC Children's and Women's Hospital and beyond

Video series

Learn how to generate knowledge and advocate for maternal and child health globally through innovative research, collaborative partnerships, and expanding education opportunities here.

You can learn more about IGH's activities here.

You can also find more videos that describe how we are advancing our strategic priorioties here. Thank you to Global Affairs Canada and Mana na Moto for supporting these videos!

Our Team

Executive Committee:

We also benefit from the guidance of expert clinicians, researchers, nurses, allied health professionals, and administrators at BC Children’s Hospital and BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre. All share our goal of advancing the health of children from birth to adolescence. 

  • Mark Ansermino, Investigator
  • Tex Kissoon, Investigator
  • Guy Dumont, Investigator
  • Matthew Wiens, Investigator
  • Bella Hwang, Director, Operations
  • Stefanie Novakowski, Strategic Lead, Research Development
  • Simona Powell, Manager, Operations & Strategic Initiatives
  • Dustin Dunsmuir, Global Health Technical Lead
  • Rebecca Goertzen, Global Health Research Nurse
  • Miriam Ticsay, Administrative Assistant
  • Charly Huxford, Research Assistant
  • Vuong Nguyen, Biostatistician
  • Raphael Roberto, Finance and Administrative Assistant
  • Jessica Trawin, Project Manager
  • Cherri Zhang, Biostatistician
  • Yashodani Pillay, Postdoctoral Fellow
  • David Walugembe, Postdoctoral Fellow
  • Tanjila Akter, Graduate Student
  • Ahmad Asdo, Co-op Undergraduate Student
  • Sahar Zandi Nia, Graduate Student
  • Faizal Haji, Co-Chair
  • Sheona Mitchell-Foster, Co-Chair
  • Cathy Ellis
  • Angela Kaida
  • Mary Kestler
  • Claire O’brien
  • Wingfield Rehmus
  • Darcy Rosalie
  • Laura Sauve
  • Teresa Skelton
  • Natalie Twohey
  • Marianne Vidler
  • Jan Christilaw, Co-Chair
  • David Goldfarb, Co-Chair
  • Alix Bacon
  • Damian Duffy
  • Michael Hawkes
  • Connie Kekwaletswe
  • Jillian Lin
  • Dorothy Shaw
  • Ciara McGeough, Co-Chair
  • Kate Thomson, Co-Chair
  • Miranda Amundsen
  • Camara van Breemen
  • Justine Behan
  • Roxanne Carr
  • Sarah Coutes
  • Amrit Dhariwal
  • Rubee Dev
  • Nandy Fajardo
  • Melanie Hameluck
  • Jessica Knutson
  • Gloria Kwong
  • Katherine Lidstone
  • Heather Lovelace
  • Shane Pawluk


  • Pascal Lavoie, Co-Chair
  • Srinivas Murthy, Co-Chair
  • Labake Akinseye
  • Angela Devlin
  • Michael Hawkes
  • Liisa Holsti
  • Sharzad Joharifard
  • Rabia Khan
  • Nadia Mithani
  • Fiona Muttalib
  • Beth Payne
  • Emily Schaeffer
  • David Walugembe
  • Katheryn Dewar 
  • Becci Venema
Our Community

The Institute partners with global organizations where we feel sustained effort can have a significant impact on the health of children and women. 

Our projects engage a range of internal staff at BC Children’s, the Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children and BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre, as well as external partners and collaborators. These can include universities, hospitals, non-governmental organizations, global health networks, global health funders, businesses and multilateral institutions like the World Health Organization.

Our connections and commitments

We are stronger when we work together to achieve common goals. The Institute for Global Health is a member of the Coalition of Centres in Global Child Health and has joined the Every Woman Every Child movement to help end all preventable deaths of women, children and adolescents within a generation while ensuring their health and well-being.

The centre has also affirmed our commitment to global efforts to improve maternal and child health by signing the World Preeclampsia Day Proclamation, the World Sepsis Day Declaration, and the Kampala Declaration to improve care for sepsis. 

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