AMREF UK’s role
The AMREF office in the UK focuses on increasing the impact of AMREF's work in Africa by:
- Generating funding and providing technical support to Africa
- Influencing policy and practice
- Raising awareness of African health issues in the UK and relevant global forums.
We currently employ 16 members of staff at our office in London, including:
Samara Hammond
Chief Executive Officer
Samara is a clinician, a Nurse Practitioner and Public Health specialist with over 20 years experience as a manager in the public health sector. She has worked both in the UK and in Africa including Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda. Most recently she has been Associate Director of Quality Innovation and Clinical Governance at NHS Wandsworth, London.
Samara is well known to AMREF, having served as a UK Board member from 2003 to 2009, and regularly spent time in our programmes working clinically and providing public health evaluations.
Shivonne Graham
Director of Fundraising and Communications
Voted in the top 50 (No.17) most influential in Fundraising Magazine's 2011 Poll, Shivonne is proud to lead AMREF's Fundraising and Communications team in the UK.
Shivonne has previously held senior leadership roles at Shelter, Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres and Comic Relief and led the inaugural 'Have a Heart' Appeal on Heart radio. Shivonne and her team are obsessed with telling everyone they meet about AMREF's inspirational story and contribution to delivering Better Health for Africa.
Miranda Harrington
Head of Programmes
Miranda leads the Programmes team in the UK and brings a wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience from significant field based work across Africa, particularly Liberia and Sudan.
Her 4 years with the Department for International Development (DFID) have honed an impressive understanding of the funding landscape, while her time in Libera, managing a Primary and Secondary Health Care programme for Merlin, where she and her team were responsible for 14 Clinics and 1 major Hospital, mean Miranda is extremely well placed to understand the unique contribution that AMREF brings to Africa’s health care challenges.
Kwalombota M. Kwalombota
Programmes Manager
Kwalombota is the Programmes Manager at AMREF UK. A medical doctor trained in Zambia, Kwalombota worked in Zambia in both cities and rural districts. After completing a population and reproductive health MSc at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Kwalombota was a Regional Advisor for the East and Southern Africa region at Marie Stopes International.
Immediately before joining AMREF, Kwalombota worked at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, where he managed the International Health Links Centre.