Organization: AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF)
Country: Brazil
Adele Schwartz Benzaken, MD, PhD in public health, currently serves as Medical Director of the Global Program at AHF and a member of the postgraduate programme at the Federal University of the Amazon.
She has served as Vice-Chair of the WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Committee on HIV and Viral Hepatitis, Co-Chair of the PAHO Regional Validation Committee for the Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and Syphilis, Vice-Chair of the UNAIDS Steering Committee for 2025 Target Setting, Regional Director for Latin America of the International Union against Sexually Transmitted Infections, and member of the Board of the International Society for STD Research.
Adele’s other previous positions include Director of the Alfredo da Matta Tropical Dermatology and Venereology Hospital Foundation, National Program Officer for UNAIDS Brasil, Director of Fiocruz Amazonas, and Director of the Brazilian Ministry of Health’s Department of HIV, AIDS, Tuberculosis, Viral Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections.
She has authored or co-authored over 150 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 12 published book chapters.
Adele has received several recognitions of honour, including the Woman of the Year Award from Claudia magazine (Editora Abril, Brazil), an award for being a woman leader in the HIV response for children and adolescents from UNICEF, and the Grand Cross of the National Order of Scientific Merit from Brazil’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, awarded by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.