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ChildAlive is a non-profit organization focused on filling the unmet
health needs of children and families in the world’s poorest
countries.
Our goal is to help jumpstart sustainable global health initiatives by looking for small, but critical unmet needs that prevent viable solutions from being implemented. We then work with public, private and government sectors to provide financial resources to fill that need and to set the initiative in motion.
Our approach addresses the fact that it is sometimes the seemingly small things that determine a project's success or failure. In the case of the millions who die each year from preventable diseases, failure is not an acceptable option.
And so we look for places where, with a little help, important advancements in world health can be achieved.
Find out about our current initiatives:
"What can we bring?"
That was the question that sparked the idea that gave birth to ChildAlive.
It was a question that Donald Ian Macdonald, M.D., chairman and founder
of ChildAlive, asked in 2004, as he and three others prepared to visit
missionary friends living in Burkina Faso, Africa.
Burkina Faso is one of the sub-Saharan countries plagued by some of
Africa’s most deadly diseases, including meningitis and malaria.
A meningitis epidemic in 1996 resulted in more than 19,000 cases and
1,700 reported deaths in Burkina Faso. So, in response to Dr. Macdonald’s
question, the missionary friends asked for meningitis vaccines for
residents of the villages where they held literacy classes.
However, Dr. Macdonald soon discovered that this seemingly simple
request was almost impossible to fulfill; there were no policies or
programs in place to carry out the request.
Arriving in Burkina Faso without the vaccines, Dr. Macdonald eagerly
met with public health and government officials and village residents
to understand the scope of the meningitis problem. His desire to deliver
a handful of vaccines to a few people quickly grew into a passion
to vaccinate millions - and a new organization, then called The Somerled
Foundation, was born.
Since then, Dr. Macdonald's quest to find a small niche where he could
have a major impact has expanded beyond distributing meningitis vaccines
to distributing insecticide-treated nets for the prevention of malaria.
With that new focus came a new name for the organization - ChildAlive,
but the goal remains the same - to make a difference in the health
of children and families in the world's poorest countries.
The ChildAlive Board of Directors are volunteers
dedicated to helping the Foundation achieve its mission to help
children and families in the world’s poorest countries.
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Donald Ian (Ian) Macdonald, MD
Founder and Chairman
Because of his great interest in the people of West Africa and
their many problems, Dr. Macdonald established the foundation
as a vehicle to provide support, especially in areas of unmet
health needs. The first of these areas is an attack on the widespread
and deadly meningitis epidemics that exist in the region. Dr.
Macdonald sees ChildAlive as an organization aimed at filling
niches in the health care system that are otherwise unmet.
As a practicing pediatrician, Dr. Macdonald became interested
and expert in the problems of adolescent drug and alcohol abuse.
A call from the White House in 1983 to head the Federal Alcohol
Drug Abuse and Mental Health Administration changed his life.
In 1985, while still holding that job he was asked to become the
Acting Assistant Secretary for Health, a role in which he oversaw
the activities of the National Institutes of Health, the FDA,
the CDC, and the office of the Surgeon General. He was later appointed
Director of the White House Drug Abuse Policy Office.
Upon leaving government office in 1989, Dr. Macdonald founded,
chaired, and served as CEO of Employee Health Programs, which
provided companies nationwide with employee counseling and medical
review of drug testing. After selling the company, Dr. Macdonald
founded ChildAlive (then called The Somerled Foundation) in 2004
in response to the critical need for an effective meningitis prevention
program in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Barbara Johnson
Board Secretary and Legal Advisor
Barbara Johnson is a partner in the law firm of Paul Hastings.
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Mary Ann Best
Board Member
Mary Ann Best is a Senior Banker, J.P. Morgan Private Bank. Her practice is focused on providing
fee-based investment planning for individuals, families, and
foundations.
Ms. Best earned her MBA from Mercer University in Atlanta,
Georgia, and her undergraduate degree from East Carolina University.
Prior to joining Bernstein, she was associated with Advanced
Publishing and was based in New York City.
Active in the community, Ms. Best also is a board member of
the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, the Concerto Foundation,
and the Saint Stephens & Saint Agnes School Foundation.
In addition, she serves on the advisory board of the Wealth
Strategies Journal—wealthstrategiesjournal.com—and
on the National Steering Committee of the American Wartime Museum.
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Fena Macdonald
Board Member
Fena Macdonald was born and raised in Berkeley, California and graduated from The University of California, Santa Cruz in 1993 with a degree in English Literature. From 1993-1995 she was the Product Development Coordinator for Adidas' Accessory division in Los Angeles, California. In 1995 she accepted a position as the Director of Marketing and Communications for Management Planning Research (MPR) Associates, an Educational Policy research and consulting firm based in Berkeley, California.
Ms. Macdonald relocated to Washington, DC in 1998 with MPR Associates to establish their office and coordinate outreach efforts with political organizations and in conjunction with the US Department of Education.
She met and married her husband, Andrew Macdonald, in Washington, DC and currently she works from home, caring for their three young children and volunteering for various school and charity organizations.
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Stuart Showalter Ph.D.
Board Member and Consultant
Dr. Showalter has served as a missionary linguist, translator,
trainer, and project coordinator in Burkina Faso for over 20 years.
He introduced Dr. Macdonald to the people of Burkina Faso and
their persistent health struggles, and arranged meetings for him
with the country's key public health personnel.
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