Established the UNAIDS Office on AIDS, Security and Humanitarian Response Serving as the Director, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Office for Security and Humanitarian Response Initiated UNAIDS substantive relationship with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations; negotiated the establishment of HIV/AIDS focal points in 16 peacekeeping operations; Initiated a comprehensive programme to promote HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness for young recruits within uniformed services; Led the drafting and field-testing of guidelines for interventions to prevent HIV/AIDS in emergency and humanitarian situations; mobilized funding for implementation of the guidelines in several pilot countries. He has served as the Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Burundi and Kampala. Responsible for the care and protection of 75,000 returnees to Burundi, and 300,000 refugees to Kampala from Tanzania and Rwanda including the delivering of basic health and education services and the negotiation of land rights and reintegration into communities. He also served with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Emergency Programmes ;providing support and guidance to UNICEF emergency programmes worldwide I can continue with his achievements. He is faculty on George Washington University and Lund University in Sweden. Maitri has the honour and priviledge of Dr Ulf Kristoffersson as the Chair of Maitri Board.
Dr Joe Thomas is one of the leading social commentators on HIV and AIDS in Asia Pacific region. He has contributed towards HIV-AIDS related program and policy developments in Australia, India, Indonesia, East Timor, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, Mongolia and Rwanda. He has served as the HIV-AIDS Advisor to the Ministry of Health in East Timor, served as a technical advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO) and as the regional manager of the Northern Territory AIDS and Hepatitis Council in Darwin, Australia. For the last eight years he has edited two popular e-forums. AIDS INDIA and AIDS ASIA e FORUM. Dr Thomas is the founding co-convenor of the largest Asia regional multi sectoral alliance for HIV response. Asian People’s Alliance for Combating HIV-AIDS (APACHA). He is the author of the two books and has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals. As an Indian immigrant living and working in Australia, Dr Thomas is acutely aware of the vulnerabilities of migrant and other marginalised population groups and its implications on their health and wellbeing. He is at the forefront of fighting stigma, discrimination, racial and other intolerances. He is the founding Director of the International Centre for Health Equity Inc. based in Melbourne, Australia.
Lt. Gen. Bhopinder Singh graduated from the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in 1965.After his graduation from IMA, he was commissioned into the celebrated Dogra Regiment. Rising steadily and making his mark, General Bhopinder Singh commanded various formations at various levels in strategic high altitude and sensitive border areas and assumed the responsibility of “Colonel of the Regiment “ in addition to his responsibility of being the Director General of Assam Rifles. He has been awarded Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM,AVSM, PVSM for distinguished service to the nation. Recognising that HIV/ AIDS was impacting the Assam Rifles efficiency on ground, he as the Director General of Assam Rifles, initiated the formation of the Assam Rifles AIDS Control Programme to deal with the issue of HIV and AIDS through a multipronged and multilayered strategy. For a sustainable community empowerment strategy on HIV/AIDS in the North East and the Assam Rifles, Gen Singh involved specialist organizations such as the Assam AIDS Prevention Society, UNAIDS, UNODC, INP+, the Commonwealth and other NGOs, to educate, facilitate counselling, voluntary testing, training and care and support programmes to augment the organizational effort. General Singh was nominated as a civil society member representing Uniformed Personnel on the Regional and Global Task Force of UNAIDS. General and his wife, Winnie Singh, founded Maitri, a developmental and humanitarian NGO that is committed to facilitating citizenship rights, basic services, identity, dignity, and respect for the most vulnerable populations in India, with a focus on addressing elderly, destitute and abandoned widows in Vrindavan, violence against women, Rickshaw pullers, underprivileged women and children.With his vast experience in issues related to ageing, General Singh is serving as the President of Maitri, which is committed to serving 300 widows in Vrindavan with shelter, nutrition + milk and fruits, facilitating healthcare including dental and cataract surgeries, government benefits and ensures dignity in death by arranging last rites in accordance with their religious beliefs. General Bhopinder Singh is also the President of Senior Citizens Council (Regd.), which deals with advocacy and awareness of the rights and benefits of senior citizens. Aashirwad runs an Old Age Home “Aashirwad” in East Delhi for middle income group.General Singh is a Ph.D. scholar in Public Health from JNU.
Winnie Singh is Co-Founder of Maitri. Along with General Bhopinder Singh , she shapes and approves the foundation’s strategies, reviews results, and sets the overall direction of the organization. Maitri was founded in 2005 as a felt need to support and create support groups in Uniformed Services to fight HIV/ AIDS in Shillong Meghalaya. Together, they worked with with uniformed services and in the slums of Delhi on reducing violence against women and prevention of domestic violence with HIV as a major constituent of the work. In 2008, they came across a unique and an extremely vulnerable population in Vrindavan, widows who were victims of domestic violence, inflicted by their family members, including their sons and relatives and rendered homeless and destitute to live on the streets of Vrindavan, begging. It was a heartfelt need to support and bring dignity into the lives of the homeless, destitute and abandoned widows of Vrindavan. It was a crucial moment in the history of Maitri and formed a benchmark to work towards identity, dignity and respect. Through her work over the last thirteen years, Winnie has witnessed that compassion and good will can bring transformational improvements in the lives of ageing, homeless and destitute widows. Winnie Singh is a committed social worker, with over two decades of experience at national and grassroots level in public healthcare, with special emphasis in the area of health, elderly and gender equity. Her lifelong interest in humanitarian relief, dynamic nature and action has been the driving force for a lot of new social programs in Northeast India, Domestic Violence, Widows of Vrindavan and in the slums of Delhi. She is a healer, counselor for relationship issues, whether its couple counseling, domestic violence or dating issues, her motto is : identify, understand and be happy. A certified past life regression therapist from Brian Weiss Omega Institute, she heals through regression. She is a speaker on Conscious Ageing.
