Peter McDermott is currently Director, Fajara Associates, a bespoke International Development and Global Health Consultancy Company. Previously he served as Managing Director and Executive Director, Global Health at the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF). He currently serves on CIFF’s Programme Investment Committee, Chairs GSK/ViiV HealthCare’s Positive Action for Children Board, is a Trustee of Panorama a non-profit Action Tank and provides pro bono support to numerous global health and development start-ups. He joined CIFF in 2007 following over 22 years in the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Prior to joining UNICEF, he worked as Health Planner in the Ministry of Health, Banjul, Gambia for the Overseas Development Administration (ODA) the precursor to DFID. He also worked in Nigeria and in Bihar, India.

Peter served UNICEF in senior capacities throughout the world and extensively in sub-Saharan Africa: Zambia, Somalia, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, and Gambia among others. He worked in UNICEF headquarters in New York in the office of the UNICEF Executive Director James Grant, and in Geneva as Deputy Director Emergency Programmes. He also held the positions of UNICEF Representative Zambia, and headed up the offices in Somalia, Afghanistan and Rwanda. He also served as Chief, HIV/AIDS UNICEF, New York. Peter was also Principal Advisor for HIV/AIDS in the Africa Bureau of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), a post he held while on secondment from UNICEF, the first UN staff member seconded to the USG/USAID.

Peter received his Bachelor of Arts (BA) from York University in England and a Master of Science (MSc) degree from the London School of Economics. He also holds a state registered nurse qualification (SRN) from St. George’s Hospital, England. He is a Founder of Health Unlimited, a UK based NGO, now called Health Poverty Action.