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The University of Southampton
Sociology, Social Policy and CriminologyPart of Economic, Social and Political Science

Southampton social sciences’ alumna joins Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Published: 30 July 2013

A Southampton social sciences’ alumna has been appointed director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Family Planning Programme.

Elizabeth Lula graduated with a BSc in Sociology from the University of Southampton in 1976. Since then she has served as Pathfinder International’s Regional Vice President for Africa where she was responsible for strategy development, fundraising and the design, management, implementation, and evaluation of Pathfinder’s family planning, maternal and child health, and HIV programs in the region; worked as the World Bank’s advisor for Population, Reproductive, Maternal, and Child Health; and been the World Bank’s Regional Integration Interim Director and Manager for the Africa Region.

Chris Elias, president of Global Development at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said: “I am pleased to welcome Elizabeth to the foundation. She is a highly effective leader with deep experience in population and development, reproductive health and family planning, maternal and child health, HIV and TB, and women’s empowerment. She will help the foundation and its partners increase access to family planning information and contraceptives for millions more women in the world’s poorest countries.”

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is guided by the belief that every life has equal value. It works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

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