Her Excellency Dr. Isatou Touray is the interim Executive Director of Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases. Prior to joining Uniting, Dr. Touray was the Vice President of the Republic of the Gambia. She has also served as the Minister of Trade, Regional Integration, Industry and Employment, Minister of Health and Social Welfare and, in 2016, was the first female candidate in history to run for president of the Gambia.

Before her political engagements, Dr. Touray co-founded and served as Executive Director of The Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children, a leading organisation in sexual and reproductive health and the rights of women and children, with a special emphasis on the fight against female genital mutilation.

She served as the Chairperson of The Gambia Chapter of the West Africa Network for Peace Building for six years and has initiated many peace gatherings across the country. She has served as the Secretary General of the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices, a Pan-African organisation fighting to promote and protect the rights of the girl-child from harmful practices. She founded and created the Gender and Development Unit of the Management Development Institute in the Gambia, which started a certificate and diploma in Gender and Development. She is a member of several global networks that promote gender equality and human rights issues, including Women Living Under Muslim Law, Gender Equality in the Muslim Family, One Billion Rising and V-DAY. She is currently co-chair of the African Women Leadership Network (AWLN).

Dr. Touray holds a PhD in Development Studies, with emphasis on Gender and Development, from the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, United Kingdom. She also holds a master’s degree in Development Studies with specialization in Women and Development from the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, Netherlands and a bachelor’s honours degree in Education and specialization in English from The University of Usmanu Dan Fodio, Sokoto Nigeria.