December 10, 2019
Friends Welcomes Maurine Murenga to its Board of Directors
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Friends) is excited to welcome Maurine Murenga as a new member of our Board of Directors. Murenga is executive director of the Lean on Me Foundation and a Global Fund board member representing the communities’ delegation. She brings a unique perspective to the Friends board as a Kenyan advocate who has been living with HIV openly since the early 2000s.
“It is an honor to welcome Maurine to the Board of Directors,” said Chris Collins, President of Friends. “Maurine brings an impressive background in advocacy and passion for ending the AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria epidemics. We know Maurine as a compelling spokesperson for global health investments on Capitol Hill and we very much look forward to working with her as Friends continues educating Americans about the critical, life-saving work of the Global Fund.”
Murenga’s passion for advocacy is driven by her lived experience, and the inequality and vulnerability that young women and adolescent girls living with HIV experience in her community. In response to these challenges, she founded the Lean on Me Foundation, an organization that provides comprehensive care and support to adolescent mothers and children living with and affected by HIV and TB in Kenya.
“I am delighted to join the Friends Board,” Murenga said. “I look forward to the opportunity to use my advocacy experience to work with the Friends team to develop new ways of engaging U.S. policymakers and the public about the urgency of fighting AIDS, TB and malaria.”
Murenga, who has an extensive background working on public health and community development, also serves as a member of the Global Fund’s Audit and Finance Committee, Chair of the Steering Committee of Women 4 Global Fund and as a member of the communities’ delegation to the Stop TB Partnership board. In Kenya, Murenga is a member of the Gender Technical Committee on HIV and AIDS, and formerly the Global Fund Coordinator of the International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICW).
“As Global Fund advocates around the world look for opportunities to support each other and encourage domestic resource mobilization, Maurine’s expertise will be a tremendous asset to Friends,” said Friends Board Chair Dr. Jeffrey L. Sturchio. “I am thrilled to welcome Maurine to the Friends team.”
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ABOUT FRIENDS OF THE GLOBAL FIGHT AGAINST AIDS, TUBERCULOSIS AND MALARIA: Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria advocates for U.S. support of the Global Fund, and the goal to end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. For more information about Friends of the Global Fight, visit www.theglobalfight.org.
ABOUT THE GLOBAL FUND: The Global Fund is a partnership designed to accelerate the end of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics. As an international organization, the Global Fund mobilizes and invests more than US$4 billion a year to support programs run by local experts in more than 100 countries. In partnership with governments, civil society, technical agencies, the private sector, faith-based organizations and people affected by the diseases, we are challenging barriers and embracing innovation. Learn more at https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/overview.
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