Gede is delighted to announce that the Foundation’s Managing Director, Mr John Minto, has been invited to become the RSA’s first “Connector” in Nigeria.

In accepting the role, Mr Minto noted that, “the RSA is one of the most reputable civil society organisations in the world and has been in existence since 1754. The RSA’s Mission (seeking to address the world’s challenges by unleashing the creative potential in every individual) is mutually compatible with that of Gede (bringing stigmatised and underserved health burdens ‘out of the shadows’ through research, partnerships and advocacy). I look forward to Gede and the RSA developing a Nigeria specific programme which will bring a wide range of people together to address many of the challenges facing the country both now and in the future.”

As an initial programme, Mr Minto noted that Gede and the RSA have started discussions focusing on ways in which “creativity” can be engaged to address the challenges facing Nigeria (and many other low and middle income countries) in relation to population and disease changes, with more people living longer coupled with the increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases (such as mental illness, diabetes, cancer) which impact significantly on lives and health systems.

Please return regularly to Gede’s website to learn more about the Foundation’s collaboration with the RSA (www.thersa.org). You can also discuss the evolving programme with Mr Minto through jminto@gedefoundation.org