Profile

Dr. Zipporah previously served as the Executive Director of Kenya Hospices and Palliative Care Association (KEHPCA), a position she held for 15 years until her retirement in 2021. She was instrumental is founding and setting up the association. She currently serves on the board of several organizations including; Kenya Hospices and Palliative Care Association, African Palliative Care Association (APCA), Alzheimer/Dementia Kenya (ADOK).She has previously served on several other global, regional, and national boards.

She is an active member of KESHO (Kenya Society of Hematology and Oncology) and co-chairs the KESHO Outreach Committee. She is also member of a number of cancer Technical Working Groups with the National Cancer Institute- Kenya and The National Cancer Control Program-Kenya.

Currently, she is a co-investigator in a research titled: An integrated community-clinic model of optimized implementation strategies to increase early detection of breast and cervical cancers in selected counties in Kenya.

Dr. Ali has been and continues to be involved in advocacy and creating awareness on pain relief and palliative care in Kenya for children and adults as well as Universal Health Coverage. In her leadership role as the Executive Director for KEHPCA, she was very instrumental in fostering strong relationships with the Ministry of Health to integrate palliative care into government hospitals. She was also instrumental in advocating for palliative care to be included in the undergraduate medical and nursing schools in Kenya. She is a strong advocate for cancer prevention, control, and treatment and was instrumental in developing the first National Cancer Control Strategy and the National Guidelines for Cancer Management-Kenya. She has also advocated for palliative care to be integrated into other non-communicable diseases as well as infectious diseases.

Dr. Ali has been involved in a number of activities at the World Health Assembly (Geneva) and the UN High-Level Meetings on Non-communicable diseases. She is a strong advocate for the right to health for all and a supporter of the movement on meaningful involvement of persons living with serious health conditions and leaving no one behind.

Dr. Ali holds an MD from Ege University, Izmir, Turkey, and a Master  Degree in Public Health from the University of Nairobi, a Higher Diploma in Palliative Care from Oxford Brookes University, and a Masters in Palliative Care from the University of Dundee. She has completed the International Pain Policy Fellow program with the International Pain Policy Studies Group (WHO Collaborating Centre for Policy and Communication in Cancer Care, University of Wisconsin) as well as a Higher Diploma in the International Palliative Care Leadership Development Initiative at The Institute of Palliative Medicine at the San Diego Hospice.

Publications:

 MOST RECENT ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN AN ACADEMIC JOURNALS

  • Cartmell, K., Doherty, E., Gikaara, N. et al.Kenyan palliative care providers’ and leaders’ perceptions of palliative care research needs and support to facilitate rigorous research. BMC Palliat Care 22, 135 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-023-01199-0
  • Roberts D., Ali Z., Sirengo B., 2022.  “Collaboration in Palliative Care: Global Perspectives: In Robert D, Green Laura, Collaborative Practice in Palliative Care. 1st Edn. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London. pp 98-109
  • Zipporah Ali, Jonathan Cohen.  02 August 2021. Opinion: Governments, not philanthropy, should fund palliative care. https://www.devex.com/news/opinion-governments-not-philanthropy-should-fund-palliative-care-100480

Dr Ali has received a number of awards in recognition of her work nationally and globally. These include:

  • Doctor of Law Honoris Causa-University of Dundee (2018)
  • International Humanitarian Award-Women4Africa (2018)
  • Social Impact Award for the Sub-Saharan Africa region-British Council (2018)
  • Honorary Doctor of the University by Oxford Brookes University (2012)
  • Individual Advocacy Award by the African Palliative Care Association and Open Society Foundations (2013
  • African Palliative Care Award –(In recognition for being on the interim board and later serving on the board for 2 teams) -2007