Board of Trustees

MCAI is governed by a Board of Trustees which is responsible for ensuring the charity is well-managed and abides by its charitable objectives.

The Trustees come from a wide range of backgrounds who share our passion to improve maternal and child healthcare worldwide and who bring a wealth of specialist skills and expertise to our organisation. The board meets four times a year and we have a sub-committee of Trustees who meet monthly, together with staff members, to discuss charity issues on a regular basis.

Dr David Southall - OBE (for humanitarian aid for children in Bosnia & Herzegovina) MD, MRCP, MBBS, FRCPCH

David  Southall was Foundation Professor of Paediatrics at Keele University. He is highly rated internationally as an academic and clinical researcher. David's main interests include: medical education and sustained improvements in the emergency medical care of mothers, babies and children in disadvantaged countries, critical care paediatrics, the development of techniques for managing the life-threatening abuse of children and mothers, and advocacy against armed conflict and its effects on mothers and children and against the arms trade. David founded the charity in 1995.

Dr Rhona MacDonald- MBChB MPH MRCOG DCH DRCOG

Rhona is a medical doctor with expertise in paediatrics, primary care, and public health. She has previously worked for Oxfam and Medécins Sans Frontières (doctors without borders) and has experience of working in several low and middle income countries, particularly Bangladesh and Romania.

Dr Alison Earley - MB, BS, MRCP, FRCPCH

Alison  Earley qualified at the Royal Free Hospital, and did her training as a paediatrician in London. She was a consultant paediatrician with Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust from 1989, where she also had Trust responsibilities for clinical governance, particularly risk management. She took early retirement in 2003 to do the Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene at the London School. She has been working with MCAI since 2004 as Honorary Country Director for Cameroon and became a Trustee of MCAI in 2009. She is married with 2 children. Her husband David Skinner is an Emergency Department consultant in Oxford, and also helps with MCAI work in Cameroon.

Dr Brigid Hayden - MbChB, FRCOG, PGCTLCC

Brigid Hayden is a Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist in Bury, Manchester and also a Postgraduate Clinical Tutor. She has medical experience working in Mauritius, Kosovo and The Gambia. Brigid spent three years in Mauritius, working in Obstetrics & Gynaecology and in General Practice. For six months from July 1999 to January 2000 she was an International Medical Adviser in Obstetrics & Gynaecology to DFID in Kosovo. She has been involved with MCAI since January 2007, having taught in The Gambia on Emergency Maternal,  Neonatal & Child Health courses, as well as on courses for Traditional Birth Attendants. Brigid became a Trustee in February 2007.

Dr David Nunns - MD, MRCOG

David  Nunns is a Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist working at the Nottingham City Hospital and a subspecialist in gynaecological cancer care for the Mid Trent Cancer Region. He has long experience of working with NGOs in Nepal carrying out gynaecology surgical camps in the rural West and colposcopy training in Nepal and Pakistan. David is the Editor of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) International News Journal and a member of the International Executive Board at the RCOG. He joined as Trustee in 2009.

David Churchill - MB ChB, MD, FRCOG

David Churchill is a consultant obstetrician at Wolverhampton and an honorary senior clinical lecturer at the University of Birmingham. His clinical interests are in hypertension, diabetes in pregnancy and fetal ultrasound. He has experience in medical management, governance and education, and currently is the deputy head of the undergraduate academy at Wolverhampton. He has taught on the LSTM / RCOG  Life Saving Skills courses in Kenya and Malawi and in 2012 will be the course director in Sierra Leone