Manju is the Director of Partnerships & Capacity Strengthening at AVAC. Leading the Global Movement Building workstream, she seeks to expand and strengthen the network of HIV prevention advocates worldwide. With extensive experience in supporting civil society engagement in research, she ensures that advocates have the resources they need to influence HIV prevention policies and processes in their communities and countries. Manju oversees programs that prioritize communities and advocate champions, including Advocacy Fellows, Media Science Cafes, the Advocacy Navigator, and population-specific communities of practice. As a long-time advocate for women’s HIV prevention within a rights-based framework, she supports partners, programs, and actions that accelerate access, research, and interventions for women in their diversity.
Prior to joining AVAC, Manju co-founded and coordinated the African Microbicides Advocacy Group and the Health & Development Networks. She has worked as a community mobilizer in Ghana, a program manager in South Africa and Thailand, a networking manager in Switzerland, and an HIV case manager in Hawaii. She was also an AVAC Board member before joining the staff.
Manju joined AVAC in 2009 with extensive experience in civil society engagement and coalition building, as well as in strategic advocacy, particularly for women’s prevention. Her work has been published in several peer-reviewed journals, and she holds a Master’s degree in Public Health. Though she now resides in the US, Manju hails from Ghana.