Board members

Board member of the NSGH since September 2019, focusing on Education and Re-registration of the AIG. And since January 2023, chair of the NSGH.

For six years, I worked with great enthusiasm in Portuguese-speaking Mozambique. I had the opportunity to work for two different NGOs and, together with Mozambican colleagues, set up wonderful projects in the areas of HIV and child healthcare. The projects had various pillars, including education, science, quality and strengthening the local healthcare system.

I returned to the Netherlands five years ago and have since completed my training as a paediatrician. My dream is that we can connect more and more people who care about equitable, sustainable, global and planetary health. Building bridges, connecting the dots.

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.

Remko Schats is a physician with a strong commitment to global health. Through his international missions, he has demonstrated versatility and a drive to make a difference in the world. In recent years, he has held various board positions at Global Health and obtained his PhD for his research into malaria vaccines. He recently completed an Executive MBA at Erasmus University and holds the position of treasurer at both the KCGH and the NSGH.

He is currently launching Enigma Global e-Health, an innovative platform that connects doctors, patients and healthcare institutions. He also gives impactful leadership lectures and workshops, inspiring others to excel.

Read more about his biography on his website: www.remkoschats.com/about

I am an internist-infectiologist and although I did not complete the training to become an International Health Care Physician (AIG) myself, I have worked in international health care for almost twenty years. I gained most of my experience during approximately ten years in Botswana and Mozambique in the field of treatment, education, and research projects for HIV and tuberculosis, but I have also become familiar with other health systems in Thailand, Suriname, and Bonaire. I think it would be extremely enjoyable and meaningful to use my experience to further develop a progressive course for the NSGH that does justice to current developments in Global Health. Developments that are moving towards equal global cooperation and a better understanding of what makes diseases what they are.

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.