Born 1959 in the Netherlands, with an MSc theoretical biology (science dynamics / women’s studies) and a medical degree from the University of Amsterdam, and an MSc in Public Health in Developing Countries from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. I started in 1993 as Associate Professional Officer with the World Health Organisation (Jamaica, Zambia) and worked since 2001 for the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) as Thematic Expert Health and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights responsible for Netherlands development cooperation in health. For MoFA I worked in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali, and was seconded to UNAIDS and WHO in Geneva. The last 6 years at MoFA HQ in the Hague until 2022, I linked to many countries and visited Benin, Burundi, Ethiopia and others. I work as an independent consultant since 2023, with past assignments in Benin and Papua New Guinea. My focus is on supporting local actors in international health: policy dialogue, health systems strengthening, aid effectiveness, health equity, infectious diseases, child health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, including in countries in crisis