Dr Mugwege studied medicine and specialised in obstetrics and gynecology in France. He holds a doctorate degree (PhD) in medical sciences from the Université Libre de Bruxelles where he is a Professor. For over 20 years, Dr. Mukwege has been treating survivors of sexual violence and women with severe gynecological problems at the Panzi Hospital, which he founded in 1999. The Hospital and Panzi Foundation are renowned for their pioneering work in specialized responses to sexual gender-based violence, and their work in advocating for the rights and empowerment of Congolese women. Dr Mukwege is an outspoken advocate for the rights of survivors of sexual violence. He co-presides over the Global Survivors’ Fund, which he co-founded in 2019. He also serves on the Scientific Council of the World Health Organisation. His action and dedication have been recognised worldwide with various awards among which the United Nations Human Rights Prize (2008), the Sakharov Prize (2014) and the Nobel Peace Prize (2018) as well as honorary degrees from several Universities.

Jeanne Conry, MD, PhD is President of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. She was the 64th President of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), a membership organization representing over 57,000 OBGYNS in the USA. She chairs the Women’s Preventive Services Initiative (WPSI), a United States coalition of health professional organizations and advocates with expertise in women’s health. She is Vice Chair for the Partnership on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Partner Engagement in Country Committee and a member of its Health Care Professionals Association. She introduced the US National Maternal Health Initiative to reduce maternal mortality and improve health before, during and after pregnancy. Dr. Conry leads national policy on Reproductive Health and the Environment and received the Environmental Protection Agency Health Champion Award. Dr. Conry served in leadership as an obstetrician gynecologist at Kaiser Permanente, the largest health maintenance organisation in the United States. She is President and CEO of the Environmental Health Leadership Foundation. She received the Visionary Leadership Award from the University of California, and the United States House of Representatives honored her for accomplishments in women’s health.

Nancy Custer Chescheir is a Maternal-Fetal Medicine physician, educator and editor. She completed her education, including residences in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Maternal Fetal Medicine, at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Chapel Hill. She was on faculty there from 1988 to the present, with exception of three years as Chair at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and to assist in opening a hospital in Gaborone, Botswana. Her primary clinical interests are in fetal medicine and assessment, and maternal-fetal surgery. She has held multiple leadership roles during her career, including president of the Association of Professors of Obstetrics and Gynecology (APGO), board membership of the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM), acting Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UNC, and founding member of NAFTNET (North American Fetal Therapy Network). She served as Editor-in-Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology (the Green Journal) from 2013-2020 and is the founding Editor-in-Chief of Reproductive, Female and Child Health. She is the Vice Chair of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and is a consultant for the ObG Project.