Board members

Although my work as an internist and infectious disease specialist focuses specifically on the health of individuals, I have always taken a keen interest in the social forces that shape the impact of diseases on people and societies under different circumstances. Along the way, I had the opportunity to contribute to the implementation of Botswana’s national HIV treatment programme, and I lived and worked in Mozambique for around ten years, helping to establish infectious disease training programmes and research infrastructure in collaboration with universities, government bodies and international partners. I subsequently gained professional experience of other health systems in Thailand, Suriname and on Bonaire. I now work at the Centre for Infectious Disease Control (CIb) at the RIVM, where I aim to use my experience to strengthen the resilience of the Dutch healthcare infrastructure, including through international collaboration.

After more than three years as a board member, I would now like, as chair of the board, to focus on continuing and expanding the progressive course that our unique association has already set, together with its tripartite partners (the Training Institute for International Healthcare and Tropical Medicine (OIGT) and the Global Health Knowledge Centre (KCGH)). A course which, whilst working towards access to good healthcare for all, always takes into account exactly what is needed in our fascinating and rapidly changing world, and which nurtures, pursues and promotes partnerships of equals at both international and national levels.

Jaco J. Verweij obtained his PhD from Leiden University with a thesis entitled “Molecular tools in the diagnosis of intestinal parasitic infections”. For more than twenty years (1990-2012), he worked at the Parasitology Department of Leiden University Medical Centre on the development, validation and implementation of new diagnostic methods, in particular DNA detection techniques. He has a passion for teaching, with an emphasis on knowledge exchange and capacity building in countries that suffer most from parasitic diseases. Since 2012, he has been working as a medical molecular microbiologist and parasitologist at the Microvida Laboratory for Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the Elisabeth-Tweesteden Hospital in Tilburg, the Netherlands.

I have an interdisciplinary background that has naturally developed into a focus on implementation science, chronic disease management and prevention in resource-poor settings. I worked for six years as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Sport and Exercise Medicine at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. I am currently an assistant professor of Implementation Science in Global Health at UMC Utrecht. My work encompasses a wide range of implementation science-related research, capacity-building initiatives and educational activities, with a specific focus on chronic diseases and multimorbidity.

Board member since 2025, focus area training/re-registration. Started as a tropical doctor in Kenya, then trained as a general surgeon with multiple focus areas, oncology, traumatology, paediatric surgery, head and neck surgery. Joined a large training partnership in Eindhoven/Veldhoven with several management and board positions, later also trainer in surgery for AIGT. Member of CIGT and visitor for AIG training programmes. Almost annual missions to LMIC, particularly Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, with long-term relationship building and various surgical projects. Involved in the Tropical Surgery working group, now NSIS, since its inception. Various international positions, including G4Alliance, Rural Surgeons of India, Essential Surgery project WHO. Since 2019, left the partnership and started as a freelance surgeon with missions for the International Red Cross and surgeon in Remote and Rural Areas, including the Falklands and St Helena. Married to Katinka and father of Pim, Kitty and Sophie, 3 grandchildren.

As an AIG employee, I worked for many years in the interior of Suriname, where I provided healthcare to hard-to-reach communities as a ‘flying doctor’. This experience showed me that healthcare is never separate from the environment: customs, traditions and people's connection to their natural environment are decisive in tailoring care to the wishes and needs of communities. During this period, I completed my Master's degree in International Health, which made me feel better equipped to work in this complex context. In 2020, we returned to the Netherlands as a family due to COVID. Since then, I have been working as a quality & treatment manager in nursing home care. Here, too, I see the same challenges as in my work as an AIG employee: a shortage of care, resources and knowledge that puts pressure on quality. These experiences have deepened my conviction that true quality in healthcare stems from craftsmanship, connection and reflection, and that we must view healthcare in relation to people, communities and their living environment—much more than just numbers and checklists. I believe in the power of empowerment, community participation and the connection between people and nature to make healthcare future-proof. As a board member, I want to work towards fair and people-centred healthcare worldwide, in which the health of people and the planet are inextricably linked.

Drawing on his background in international healthcare, he is committed to promoting a more sustainable healthcare system and mitigating the impact of climate change on health, with a particular focus on vulnerable population groups worldwide. He actively contributes to the development of knowledge and collaboration in the fields of Planetary Health and sustainable healthcare.