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Rays of Hope Forum - Programme

30 June–1 July 2025, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Programme

Day 1 - Monday

Location: African Union Headquarters, Medium Conference Hall 1

Masters of Ceremonies:

Mr Lelisa Amanuel Jira, Senior Advisor to the State Minister, Federal Ministry of Health, Ethiopia
Mr Kunuz Abdella Abdi, Technical Advisor, Cancer Control, Federal Ministry of Health, Ethiopia

09:30 – 10:00 | Welcome Coffee
 

10:00 – 12:00 |

Moderator: Ms Sophie Boutaud de la Combe, Director of the Office of Public Information and Communication, IAEA

  • 10:00 – 10:25 | Opening Session

Viewing of Rays of Hope video

Welcoming remarks by HE Ms Mekdes Daba Feyssa, Minister of Public Health of Ethiopia

Opening statement by Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency

Remarks by HE Amb. Mohamed Al- Amine Souef, Chief of Staff, Cabinet of the Chairperson, African Union

Remarks by HE Mr Temesgen Tiruneh, Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia

  • 10:35 – 11:15 | Rays of Hope – Perspective from Recipient Member States

HE Mr Benjamin Hounkpatin, Minister of Health, Benin

HE Mr Gilbert Kabanda Kurhenga, Minister of Scientific Research and Technological Innovation of the Democratic Republic of Congo

HE Mr Selibe Mochoboroane, Minister of Health of Lesotho

HE Mr lbrahima Sy, Minister of Health and Social Action of Senegal

HE Mr Lawrence Ookeditse, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Health, Botswana

HE Mr Fredrick Ouma Oluga, Principal Secretary, Ministry of Health, Kenya

 

11:15 – 12:00 | Rays of Hope Donor Member States

HE Mr Jens Hanefeld, Ambassador of Germany to Ethiopia and Permanent Observer to the African Union 

HE Mr Maurizio Busanelli, Permanent Representative of Italy to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa 

HE Mr Tsutomu Nakagawa, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the African Union 

Mr Julien Voituriez, First Counsellor, Embassy of France to Ethiopia and to the African Union

Launch of partnership with St Jude

Mr Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, Executive Vice-President Director, St. Jude Global, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

 

12:00 – 12:30 | Ethiopia’s journey to improved cancer care 

Presentation by HE Mr Dereje Duguma Gemeda, State Minister for Programs, Federal Ministry of Health, Ethiopia

 

12:30 – 14:00 | Lunch Break
 

14:00 – 15:00 | Partnership for Hope 

Moderator: Ms Lisa Stevens, Director of the Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy, IAEA Technical Cooperation Department  

Mr Ajay Bhushan Pandey, Vice President of Investment Solutions, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (video message)

Mr Luca Ferro, Charge d’affairs and attaché political and consular affairs, Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium to Ethiopia, Djibouti & African Union

Mr Chris Bonnet, General Manager – Strategic Projects & Government Growth, GE Healthcare

Ms Leyla Traoré, Head of Representation to Ethiopia and the African Union, European Investment Bank

Mr Kevin Massoudi, Vice President & Head of Public Sector Engagement, MEA, Siemens Healthineers

Mr Takuma Otsuka, Head of Global Marketing and Global Health, Modality Solution Division, Medical Systems Business Division, FujiFilm

 

15:00 – 16:00 | Working together for sustainable and quality cancer management with Anchor Centres

Presentation by: Ms May Abdel-Wahab, Director of the Division of Human Health, IAEA Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications followed by a panel

Ms Kathleen Schmeler, Associate Vice President, Global Oncology, Division of Cancer Network, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX (video message)

Ms Sadaf Tufail Butt, Radiologist and Nuclear Physician, Nuclear Medicine, Oncology & Radiotherapy Institute (AECH-NORI), Anchor Centre, Pakistan

Mr Luis Rovere, Vice President Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica (CNEA)

Mr Lachgar Amine, Radiation Oncologist, National Institute of Oncology (INO), Anchor Centre, Morocco

Mr Mike Sathekge, Professor and Head of Nuclear Medicine Department at University of Pretoria and Steve Biko Academic Hospital Anchor Centre, South Africa

Mr Amine Habouchi, Head of Radiology Department at CHU Bab El Oued, Anchor Centre, Algeria

Mr Vedang Murthy, Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, Tata Memorial Centre, Anchor Centre, India

Ms Shivani Tyagi, Public Affairs and Market Development Manager, Elekta

HE Mr Shaukat Abdulrazak, Principal Secretary, Science, Research and Innovation, Office of Prime Cabinet Secretary, Kenya

 

16:00 – 16:45 | Financing for Care

Moderator: Lisa Stevens, Director of the Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy, IAEA Technical Cooperation Department  

Ms Olukemi Afun-Ogidan, Country Manager, Public Sector Operations for OPEC Fund for International Development

Mr Tolulope AdewoleCEO, Medserv

Mr Mayank Anand, Head of Non-Communicable Diseases and Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, MedAccess

Ms Fatima Haggar, Head, National Cancer Control Program, Chad

HE Mr Shaukat Abdulrazak, Principal Secretary, Science, Research and Innovation, Office of Prime Cabinet Secretary, Kenya

Mr Supriyanto Ardjo Pawiro, Professor, University of Indonesia

Mr Steve Muanza, Commissioner General for Atomic Energy, Democratic Republic of Congo

 

17:30 – 20:30 | Guided Visit of the National Palace (Jubilee Palace) followed by a reception dinner hosted by the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia

Day 2 - Tuesday

Location: African Union Headquarters

09:00 – 09:30 | Welcome coffee

 

09:30 – 10:30 | Rays of Hope in Africa

Moderator: Mr Gashaw Gebeyehu Wolde, acting Director of the Division for Africa, IAEA Technical Cooperation Department  

Ms Fatima Haggar, Director, National Cancer Control Program (NCCP), Ministry of Health of Chad

Mr Elias Melly Kipchumba, Chief Executive Officer, National Cancer Institute of Kenya (NCIK), Ministry of Health of Kenya

Mr Steve Muanza Kamunga, Commissioner General for Atomic Energy (CGEA), Democratic Republic of Congo

Ms Ndeye Yacine Dieng, Head Cancer Office Division of Non-Communicable Diseases, Ministry of Health and Social Action of Senegal

Mr Malam Mustapha, Secretary General, High Authority of Atomic Energy of Niger (HANEA)

Ms Kabelo Mputsoe, Clinical Radiation Oncologist, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Lesotho

Ms Tlotlo Ralefala, Consultant Radiation Oncologist, Princess Marina Hospital, Botswana

Ms Hiwot Solomon, Lead Executive Officer, Disease Prevention and Control, Ministry of Health, Ethiopia

 

10:30 – 11:30 | Rays of Hope in Latin America and the Caribbean 

Moderator: Mr Luis Longoria, Director of the Division for Latin America and the Caribbean, IAEA Technical Cooperation Department

Mr Luis Rovere, Vice-President, National Atomic Energy Institute, Anchor Centre, Argentina

Mr Ariel Fariña, Coordinator Master Programme, Fundación Arturo López Pérez (FALP), Chile

Mr Daniel Brizuela, Head of the Technical Project Unit, Ministry of Health of Honduras

Mr Mitchell Fitzgerald, CEO Nuclear medicine Unit, University Hospital of the West Indies, Jamaica

Mr Jose Ortiz, Surgery Oncologist and Hospital Director, State Cancer Centre Veracruz Dr. Miguel Dorantes Mesa (CECAN), Mexico

Mr Guillermo Batista Hernandez, Jefe de Fisica Medica y Oficial de Proteccion Radiologica, Caja de Seguro Social, Panama

Mr Victor Palacios, Advisor to the Special Commission for the Prevention, Monitoring, and Control of Cancer of the National Congress, Peru

Mr Cesar Federico Lorenzo, Professor, Universidad de la Republica de Uruguay, Uruguay

 

11:30 – 13:00 | Lunch Break

 

13:00 – 13:30 | Rays of Hope in Europe

Moderator: Ms Mayumi Yamamoto, Program Management Officer, Division for Europe, IAEA Technical Cooperation Department

Mr Ivan Lasic, Director of State Regulatory Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Ms Dilyara Kaidarova, Chairman of the Board, Kazakh Institute of Oncology and Radiology, Kazakhstan

Mr Olimjon Azizov, Head of Management, Public and International Relations Department, Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Safety and Security Agency, Tajikistan

Ms Deniz Yalman, Professor and Head of the Department. Ege University, Izmir, Anchor Centre Representative, Türkiye

 

13:30 – 14:30 | Rays of Hope in Asia and the Pacific

Moderator: Ms Kimberley Frolov-Roessler, Program Management Officer, Division for Asia and the Pacific, IAEA Technical Cooperation Department

Remarks from HE Chheang Ra, Minister of Health, Cambodia (video message)

HE Mr Peter Hunter, Ambassador of Australia to Ethiopia, South Sudan, Djibouti, the Central African Republic, the African Union, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in Ethiopia, Embassy of Australia

Mr Manduul Enkhjargal, Nuclear Medicine physician, Nuclear Medicine Center, Second State Central Hospital of Mongolia

Ms Sadaf Tufail Butt, Radiologist and Nuclear Physician, Nuclear Medicine, Oncology & Radiotherapy Institute (AECH-NORI), Anchor Centre Pakistan

Mr Kanchan P. Adhikari, Professor, Medical Physics / Radiation Safety Officer, National Academy of Medical Sciences, Bir Hospital, President of Nepalese Association of Medical Physicist, Nepal

Mr Krisanat Chuamsaamarkkee, Lecturer, Medical Physicist, Anchor Centre Representative of Thailand

 

14:30 – 15:00 | Coffee Break

 

15:00 – 16:00 | Rays of Hope and Breast Cancer

Moderator: Ms Lisa Stevens, Director of the Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy, IAEA Technical Cooperation Department  

Ms Sewera Deju, Breast cancer survivor and member of Nigat Breast Cancer Support Group, advocate and counsellor

Mr Luis Longoria, Director of the Division for Latin America and the Caribbean, International Atomic Energy Agency

Mr Ignatius Abowini Nchor, Chief Program Officer, Ministry of Health, Ghana

Ms Miriam Mutebi, President, African Organization for Research and training in Cancer (AORTIC)

Ms Susannah Stanway, Co-convenor London Global Cancer Week

 

16:00 – 16:30 | Closing Remarks by Mr Gashaw Gebeyehu Wolde, acting Director of the Division for Africa, IAEA Technical Cooperation Department and HE Ms Mekdes Daba Feyssa, Minister of Health of Ethiopia

 

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