Dr Sema Sgaier

Dr Sema Sgaier-Image

Dr. Sema Sgaier is Co-founder and Executive Director of Surgo Foundation, a privately-funded ‘action tank’ whose goal is to generate behavioral insights and translate them into tools for transformative and accountable development programmes. Sema is Assistant Adjunct Professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Affiliate Assistant Professor, Global Health at the University of Washington. Previously, Sema worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), where she led a portfolio on voluntary medical male circumcision for HIV prevention across eastern and southern Africa. As part of BMGF’s India Country Office, Sema led the scale-up of its HIV prevention programme (Avahan) in several states and managed its transition to the Government of India. Sema received her PhD in cellular and molecular biology from New York University and her MA in neuroscience from Brown University. She was selected as a Rising Talent by the Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society.


Articles by Dr Sema Sgaier


A group of panelists_nonprofit humour

June 10, 2025
Post Schedule Testing

June 10, 2025
Missed Schedule Testing

January 31, 2024
જન-કેન્દ્રિત સંસ્થા બનવાની નવ રીતો
આંતરિક પ્રતિભા વ્યવસ્થાપન એ સતત શીખવાની અને સુધારવાની પ્રક્રિયા છે. અહીં એવી કેટલીક ટીપ્સ છે જે તમને સંસ્થાકીય સંસ્કૃતિ બનાવવામાં મદદ કરે છે જે લોકોને પ્રથમ સ્થાન આપે છે.
doctor and patient as part of COVID-19 response

May 27, 2021
What can we learn from Jharkhand’s COVID-19 response?
Jharkhand has taken additional COVID-19 response protocols to curb the surge. Here are some implementation challenges and suggestions on a way forward.
A person holding a vaccine bottle and syringe-picture courtesy-Flickr

May 25, 2021
India’s COVID-19 vaccine drive is excluding millions of citizens
The government's recently published guidelines for vaccinating vulnerable groups are inadequate, and risk excluding the very people they are meant to benefit.
group of people standing in front of a wall which has a slogan about social distancing painted on it-NGOs

May 24, 2021
What can nonprofits do to tackle COVID-19 in central India?
The window of opportunity to stop preventable deaths is narrow, but doable. Here are some steps that nonprofits can take to tackle rising COVID-19 cases in Bihar, Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh.
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