Florence Bayoa Alibeb is an international development leader and social scientist with over 20 years of experience advancing health equity and gender justice in South Sudan. She is the Founder and Chair of Koria Women Empowerment Association and currently serves as Executive Director of the Bishop Gassis Relief and Rescue Foundation, managing integrated programs in health, nutrition, and WASH across Sudan and South Sudan. Previously, she served for a decade as Country Director for ICAP at Columbia University, overseeing large-scale HIV/AIDS and laboratory service portfolios and managing over 700 staff as a primary technical partner to the Ministry of Health. Her earlier leadership at the International HIV/AIDS Alliance and the New Sudan Council of Churches saw her build the capacity of 92 civil society organizations and champion women’s empowerment through peacebuilding and economic justice.
Florence holds an MA in Social Policy and Social Development from the University of Manchester, a Postgraduate Diploma in Food and Nutrition, and a BSc in Health Science from Ahfad University for Women, complemented by specialized training in leadership, trauma resilience, and monitoring and evaluation.
She is passionate about mentoring the next generation and believes female leadership is the key to building resilient, gender-sensitive health systems that protect human dignity in post-conflict environments.
Fun fact: Florence is a passionate designer of ladies’ wear and a dedicated mixed farmer, and when she is not leading health systems reform, she is mobilizing her church and community women’s group, because for Florence, collective growth is both a calling and a joy.