Dr Carolina Batista

Carolina Batista, MD is the Head of Global Health Affairs at Baraka Impact Finance. She holds expertise in global health, access, R&D, infectious and neglected diseases and international development. During the span of her career, she has been able to design frameworks and guidelines that have ultimately impacted public policies in countries and vulnerable communities around the globe.

Clinically trained in Brazil, Carolina started her career working in her country, including with indigenous communities in the Amazon. In 2007, she joined Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), working in a project in Somalia and has remained connected with the humanitarian organization ever since.

In 2011 she became the director of the Brazilian Medical Unit (BRAMU) of MSF in Brazil. Her primary focus in this role was to support field operations treating neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and emerging infectious diseases. She was also involved in multiple assignments with the organization in Africa and Latin America and conducted evaluations of various programs and activities focused on NTDs. As the Head of the BRAMU, she also coordinated MSF’s international campaign for Chagas disease.

After three successful years with MSF-Brazil, Carolina joined the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) Latin America as the Head of Access and Medical Affairs. Under her leadership, DNDi developed and implemented successful access frameworks to diagnosis and treatment for NTDs throughout Latin America, with special focus on Chagas disease. Such access frameworks are currently used by a range of stakeholders, including local governments and clinical and academic centres of excellence. At DNDi Carolina was also able to foster partnerships in the region and played a key role in the creation of the Brazilian Forum of Patients with Neglected Diseases.

Carolina is currently an elected International Board Member for MSF and she also serves as a Latin America Strategic Advisor for ISGlobal. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Carolina has worked closely to support grass roots groups in various countries, led the MSF medical response to COVID-19 in the Navajo Nation, in the United States.

Carolina has authored several peer reviewed articles on global health, access to health tools, policy and humanitarian medicine. She is currently a member of The Lancet COVID-19 Commission and a board member of The Lancet Migration, Latin American hub. Carolina holds a combined master’s degree in International Public Health, from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp and The Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam.