Dr. Richard Marlink
Secretariat
Dr. Richard Marlink, Director of the Rutgers Global Health Institute, is a medical oncologist and the Secretariat Director with a proven record of building strong health initiatives and partnerships across continents. During his tenure at Harvard, he pioneered a multicountry research partnerships in Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Thailand. His leadership, supported by the Merck Company Foundation, created the Enhancing Care Initiative, a unique multisectoral cooperation spanning Brazil, Senegal, South Africa, Thailand, and Puerto Rico. This initiative, predating the advent of combination antiretroviral therapy, laid the groundwork for locally tailored HIV/AIDS interventions in care and treatment. Dr. Marlink previously advised Bristol Myers Squibb’s Secure the Future initiative, as it successfully implemented impactful HIV/AIDS programs across Southern and West Africa. His principal investigator and directorship role in Project HEART, with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, addressed HIV/AIDS care and treatment for over 1 million people across five African countries. Dr. Marlink co-created the African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships (ACHAP), a testament to public-private collaboration, accelerating Botswana’s National HIV/AIDS Program years before the US Government’s PEPFAR Program. His instrumental role in establishing the first PEPFAR partnership between the US Government and Botswana is a local example of his commitment to scalable, sustainable programs.
Dr. Tendani Gaolathe
Dr. Tendani Gaolathe is the senior advisor for the Botswana-based operations of the Botswana-Rutgers Partnership for Health. She is a lead investigator for the partnership’s research and capacity-building initiatives related to cancer care and prevention, COVID-19, and health care training in Botswana. Gaolathe’s career clinical and research focus has been HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. Through the Botswana–Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership and the U.S. President’s Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) training and capacity–building program, she has served as principal investigator for two cooperative agreements. She helped to develop and lead the Botswana Master Trainer Program for doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and lab technicians in support of the national rollout of antiretroviral treatment program clinics, laboratory decentralization, and monitoring and evaluation efforts. She also conducted clinical research while serving as director of the Botswana Combination Prevention Project, which was a collaboration with the Botswana Ministry of Health and Wellness, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since 2007, Gaolathe has chaired the Government of Botswana’s National HIV/AIDS Treatment Guidelines Committee. She advises several technical working groups, whose efforts have influenced national guideline changes for HIV care and management, drug forecasting, and budgeting. Dr. Gaolathe continues to work and teach at Botswana’s main referral hospital, Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone, as a specialist in internal medicine. A native of Botswana, she received a medical degree from St. George’s University in Grenada and completed medical residencies at St. Michael’s Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Dr. Refeletswe Lebelonyane
Dr. Refeletswe Lebelonyane is a distinguished public health professional and former member of the Government of Botswana who has worked on health initiatives at the community, district, and national levels for over twenty years. She has a strong record of accomplishment in leading public health and research programs and has acquired extensive knowledge on relevant national and international policies, plans, and programs. As the Program Manager at the Botswana-Rutgers Partnership for Health, Dr. Lebelonyane has implemented numerous projects, including a country-wide Cancer Care and Prevention Needs Assessment, a patient navigation program, and the Cancer Kitso Training Program. Her contributions continue to significantly impact and drive positive change within Botswana’s public health system.
Morongwa Legwaila
Morongwa Legwaila supports various initiatives of the Botswana-Rutgers Partnership for Health, including coordinating the Cancer Kitso Training Program. She regularly interacts with faculty and staff based in Botswana and New Jersey, as well as postgraduate trainees, health professionals, and representatives from Rutgers, the University of Botswana, and the Botswana Ministry of Health and Wellness. Her responsibilities include ensuring regulatory compliance and assisting with programming logistics related to the partnership’s research, education, and service efforts. Previously, she was the project manager for an HIV clinical research study at the Botswana-Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership. She received a bachelor’s degree in political studies and public administration from the University of Cape Town and an MBA in international business from Schiller International University.
Vusi Ndaba
Vusi Ndaba currently supports the implementation of telehealth efforts via both the hybrid certificate courses of the Cancer Kitso Training Program. He also liaises with doctors and nurses in Botswana’s cancer centers, connecting them with distance education and tele-mentoring programs to help improve cancer care in the country. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he coordinated the Botswana National COVID-19 Webinars, which enabled fast, efficient dissemination of vital information on COVID-19 preparedness, recovery, and resiliency in Botswana. Vusiattended Towson University, majoring in psychology.
Go Together 