Ruline and Andrea

Ruline is the Executive Director of Health Service Standards at the Autonomous Region of Bougainville's Department of Health.

Prior to her government work, Ruline was the first registered dental officer in Bougainville and earned a Bachelor's degree in Dental Surgery from the University of Papua New Guinea in 2009.

On her return to Bougainville, Ruline will focus on bringing Bougainville's health standards in line with the Papua New Guinea National Health Service Standards.

As a young woman who has taken up a leadership position within a key Bougainville government department, Ruline appreciates that she is playing a critical role in leading those under her. She consciously does this in a way that aligns work efforts and contributes to the agreed direction and aspirations for Bougainville as a whole.

She would like to ensure that policy is not developed in an ad hoc manner and through short term thinking, but benefits everyone in the region through an equal and long term approach.

Andrea currently is the Executive Officer of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, a joint venture between the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the University of Melbourne. In this role, she is responsible for the institute's strategic plan, communications and the development and monitoring of all institute-wide activities.

Andrea has a Master's in Public Health from Monash University, a Graduate Diploma in Population Health from the Australian National University and 15 years' of experience in delivering public health programs in the Pacific and Australia.

Through her work across the Asia Pacific region, she has a strong understanding of how health systems work in other countries and in resource-constrained settings. She is exceptionally experienced in delivering training and education programs, advocacy campaigns, and in supporting public health research and the implementation of services around the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, with a focus on blood-borne viruses.

Andrea likes working in community settings and on activities with a social justice aspect to them.