Community Health Global Network (CHGN)

CHGN's vision is of a world where communities, regardless of their wealth or circumstance, can achieve health and wellbeing.

CHGN's Mission is to build a connected, informed and influential network of health workers, policy makers, faith leaders and academics, actively committed to improving the health and wellbeing of vulnerable communities.

CHGN works to achieve this by connecting communities, encouraging them to inform themselves & each other, and promoting their regional, national and global influence.

One way this happens very tangibly is through the launch of regional Clusters; programmes that connect with each other, with their members, with faith-based congregations and with government and civil society organisations committed to community health. Programmes collaborate, instead of working alone.

CHGN - through its connected members around the world, through sharing training and best practice, and through clusters of committed communities – is working to put the community at the heart of global health.

Dr Ted Lankester, Co-Founder and Director

Ted was the co-founder of InterHealth in 1989, when it was first registered as a charity. Ted trained and originally worked as a GP. In the 1980s he lived in the Himalayas, setting up health programmes in mountain villages and refugee camps.

Now, as well as being Director of Health Services at InterHealth, he co-leads the Community Health Global Network (CHGN), and is a regular speaker at international conferences on both travel medicine and global health.

He is a Foundation Fellow of the Faculty of Travel Medicine at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, and until 2012 was on the Leadership Council of the International Society of Travel Medicine. Ted has written several books including The Travellers Good Health Guide 2006, the Berlitz Travel Health Pocket Guide 2007, various textbook chapters on travel medicine, and Setting up Community Health Programmes: a practical manual for use in developing countries, currently being revised as 4rh edition.

He is married with three daughters and his interests include travel, cross country running, health care mission and biodiversity.

Zannah Jeffreys, Operations Manager

Zannah previously worked for Tearfund, both in the UK-based Advocacy Group and overseas. Whilst in India, she gained a diploma in Community Health from CRHP, Jamkhed, and worked on health projects in the slums and brothels of Mumbai for Oasis.

Following the tsunami in December 2004, she worked for Tearfund's Disaster Management Team in Banda Aceh and Meulaboh, Indonesia, setting up a programme office, recruiting project staff and developing health education resources.

In 2007, she completed a two month Admin and HR training assignment in the DRC. Zannah lives in London, but relishes the opportunity to visit health programmes worldwide.

She enjoys sports, the great outdoors and spending quality time with her family & friends.

Elizabeth Wainwright, Website & Communications Coordinator

Elizabeth has worked for charities both in the UK and in Africa, specifically on education and livelihood projects. She holds an MSc in International Development, for which she researched how best to rehabilitate children following conflict in Northern Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya.

She has increasingly been involved in the communication of development work and global issues, and amongst other roles, has been Deputy Editor on the UK's longest-running environmental magazine.

She holds a Photojournalism accreditation with the National Council for the Training of Journalists, and alongside working for CHGN, is building freelance journalism and communications work.

She has seen the impact of good health provision, having been an auxiliary nurse herself with the NHS, and having volunteered with health projects in Africa.

She has chickens; loves travel and music; enjoys sport, exploring & wilderness; and drinks a LOT of tea from around the world.

Please visit the CHGN website to get in touch and find out more.