Pioneering Social Prescribing in the UAE
SPAN UAE (Social Prescribing Alliance Network UAE) is a growing network bringing together clinicians, researchers, policymakers and community leaders to advance social prescribing and community-centred healthcare across the United Arab Emirates. We work to connect people with non-medical sources of support that improve health, wellbeing and social connection. Through collaboration with local and international partners, SPAN UAE champions evidence-based, person-centred approaches to care.
Leadership & Network
Operational Leadership Team
Operational Leadership Team
Co-Founder & CEO
As Co-Founder and CEO of SPAN UAE, Shreehari leads the organisation’s vision, strategy, and overall direction. With a strong interest in chronic disease and public health, he focuses on advancing social prescribing by integrating non-medical interventions into healthcare systems. His work centres on building partnerships, driving innovation, and promoting community-based approaches that support more holistic and person-centred care across the UAE.
Co-founder and Head of Operations and Bussiness Development
As Co-Founder and Head of Operations and Business Development at SPAN UAE, Arthur leads the organisation’s strategic growth, partnerships, and operational delivery. He coordinates research, pilot programmes, advocacy, and technology initiatives while building collaborations between healthcare providers, community organisations, and public-health leaders. His work focuses on developing practical and scalable social prescribing models that strengthen community-based care across the UAE.
direction of media and COmmunications Â
In a technology driven world, Patricia ensure that SPAN's mission is accessible and known through different lenses. Dedicated to community impact, Patricia leads media and communication initiatives for SPAN UAE.Â
The SPAN network
Senior Advisory Board
Senior Advisor, Positive Psychology & Wellbeing
Dr. Louise Lambert is a psychologist and researcher specializing in positive psychology and wellbeing, based in Dubai for more than two decades. She works across the Gulf region helping organizations and communities strengthen wellbeing, resilience, and social connection. Her work focuses on translating psychological research into practical strategies that improve everyday life and support healthier societies.
Senior Clinical Advisor, Preventive Medicine & Public Health
A Public Health Consultant and specialist in Preventive Medicine, Dr. El-Azam leads clinical strategy for SPAN. With extensive experience in the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP), he focuses on designing sustainable, community-based health frameworks that bridge the gap between policy and practice.
Senior Advisor, Social Prescribing & Global Health
A global leader in healthcare, Dr. Bogdan is an Honorary Lecturer at UCL and Head of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Social Prescribing. Named one of the UK’s "Top 100 Most Influential People in Health," he advises international governments on shifting medicine toward holistic, community-led solutions.
Senior Advisor, Public Health Strategy & Health Systems
Dr. Narges Sheikhansari is a public health executive with over a decade of experience in various global health affairs. While her main area of focus is developing policies and implementing strategies for healthcare transformation, her expertise spans population health and longevity, research, impactful health and social behavior change, and digital health and innovation. Dr. Sheikhansari has successfully led significant public health programs, influencing policy at national and international levels. In addition to her leading role within the public sector, she is an acknowledged advisor and subject matter expert to a number of international VCs, think tanks, startups and executive boards.
Senior Advisor, Healthcare Strategy & Community Mental Health
Dr. Mentalla Elmadany is a physician with a multidisciplinary background in healthcare delivery, public health, mental wellbeing, and digital health innovation. She holds a Master of Science in Healthcare Delivery from Arizona State University, with interests spanning integrated care, community wellbeing, women’s health, preventive medicine, and healthcare strategy.
Her work focuses on bridging clinical care with public health, mental health advocacy, lifestyle medicine, and patient-centered healthcare transformation. She is also involved in mentorship, public speaking, and healthcare innovation initiatives across the UAE and wider region.
​Advisor – Creative Health, Arts & Social Prescribing
Dr Robert Dean is an interdisciplinary researcher at the University of Lincoln, UK, specialising in creative health, social prescribing, and the role of arts and culture in health and wellbeing. He leads the University’s Arts & Humanities for Health research group and has worked across projects exploring social prescribing, mental health, health inequalities, and community-based approaches to wellbeing. His work brings together researchers, healthcare professionals, cultural organisations, and communities, with a particular focus on how creative and cultural activity can support more person-centred and preventative models of health and care.
The SPAN network
SPAN UAE brings together professionals from healthcare, public health, research, technology and community sectors, each contributing to the network in different ways:
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Advisors provide senior strategic and specialist guidance, helping ensure SPAN's work remains evidence-based, relevant and professionally grounded.
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Delegates contribute actively to projects, research and partnerships, and may represent SPAN in external meetings, events and collaborative initiatives.
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Ambassadors extend SPAN's reach through advocacy, professional connections and awareness, helping identify opportunities and strengthen the wider social prescribing movement.
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These roles reflect different forms of engagement, expertise and availability rather than a hierarchy of importance, and may evolve as members' involvement with SPAN develops.
Delegates
SPAN Delegate, Physical Activity & Behaviour Change
Mark Guildea is a public health and physical activity strategist, currently serving as Managing Director of Interact, a UAE-based social impact agency focused on healthier and more active communities through behavioural science, education, sport, and technology. With experience across elite sport, academia, and government, he has led major health and wellbeing initiatives across the UAE in collaboration with organisations including Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre, ADEK, and the Department of Community Development.
His work focuses on physical activity, community wellbeing, and sustainable behaviour change through data-driven and community-based approaches. He is also a published author and speaker on public health, behavioural design, and health innovation.
SPAN Delegate, Digital Health & AI Innovation
​Dr. Daniel Sandoval is a specialist in Business Intelligence, healthcare analytics, and data management with over 15 years of experience across the healthcare sector. With a background in Systems Engineering, a Master’s degree in Computer Science, and ongoing PhD research in Computer Science, his work focuses on transforming complex datasets into actionable insights through advanced analytics, predictive modeling, KPI systems, and cloud-based data infrastructure. As Director of Data Management and Population Health Data Manager, he has led large-scale healthcare data initiatives that support informed decision-making and stronger health systems.
SPAN Delegate, Psychology & Mental Health
Haleema Khatoon is a clinical psychologist, therapist, and KHDA-approved inclusion specialist based in Dubai. Drawing on her experience supporting children of determination and their families in educational and community settings, she integrates clinical practice with social prescribing approaches, recognising the importance of social connection, family engagement, and community-based support in improving mental health outcomes. She is particularly interested in translating research into practical, community-based interventions, with a focus on understanding how social and environmental factors influence wellbeing
Commercial Strategy & Health Innovation deleguat
Seán Robertson is a UAE-based commercial strategist with 14 years of experience across pharma, digital health, and clinical science in the GCC and beyond. He bridges policy and practice — translating complex health priorities into market-ready strategies for executives managing multi-billion-dollar portfolios. Sean has consulted for 15 leading pharmaceutical companies on strategy and transformation, and advised senior leaders across five continents. His work with Toronto's Baycrest Hospital scaled world-leading brain health science to tens of thousands — grounding his current focus on dementia prevention, cognitive health, and precision medicine in the UAE. He operates at the intersection of science, commercial leadership, and health system design.
SPAN Delegate, COmmunity health
Dr. Fatima Abdul Kalam is a Dubai-based public health physician with
an MBBS from AIIMS Raipur, MD in Community Medicine from the All
India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Kolkata, and a Diploma in
Community Mental Health from NIMHANS. She has experience in
clinical assessment, preventive healthcare, disease surveillance, health
education, behavioural counselling, and community-based research. Her
expertise includes communicable and non-communicable disease
prevention, patient engagement, and evidence-based health
interventions. With interests in mental health, womens health, and
population health, she is committed to advancing holistic, equitable, and
community-centered healthcare.
SPAN Delegate, Global Health & Community Innovation
​Duaa Mohamed Suliman is a pharmacist, health policy researcher, and Young Leader in Healthcare based in the UAE. She holds a Master’s in Public Policy (Health) from the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government and an MSc in Healthcare Delivery from Arizona State University. Her work focuses on planetary health, green prescribing, sustainable healthcare, and policy innovation. She is a Planetary Health Alliance Country Ambassador and leads initiatives including EcoRx, promoting circular pharmaceutical waste management. Duaa also advocates for arts in healthcare and human-centred approaches to wellbeing, working to build healthier, more sustainable, and resilient communities.
Ambassadors
SPAN Ambassador, Human Performance & Preventive Health
UK Chartered Senior Human Performance Scientist, UK Accredited Sport & Exercise Scientist, Senior Research Fellow at the British Centre for Army Leadership (CAL), and Extreme Medicine specialist. Based in Abu Dhabi, Nikki works on government-level projects for a range of commercial and public sector partners. Her work spans three decades, with a focus on translating health and human performance research into evidence-informed interventions across the full spectrum of society, from grassroots youth to high-stakes operators. Having contributed to the delivery of several multidisciplinary projects at intergovernmental level, Nikki is currently supporting UAE Health of the Nation initiatives, in particular through developing evidence-informed behaviour change frameworks that underpin the design and delivery of community-centred programmes with measurable outcomes and sustained positive impact.Â
SPAN Ambassador, Public Health & Health Promotion
Dr Shabna Basheer is a passionate Public Health Physician with nearly a decade of experience in Community health. She has earned her medical degree (MBBS) and MD in Community Medicine from Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, India. With great interest in Health Promotion, she specializes in Screening, Disease Prevention and Surveillance, Health Education and Policy Development. Her areas of expertise include Academics, writing and Community engagement. She also holds a Professional Diploma in Occupational Medicine from the RCPI. She brings with her a wealth of experience in Social Determinants of Health.Â
SPAN Ambassador, Ethics, Governance & Responsible Innovation And Ethical Advisor
​Elizabeth Pearson is Managing Director of Forgechemy and an AI adoption, organisational behaviour and transformation specialist based in the UAE. Her work focuses on responsible innovation, ethical decision-making, governance, culture and the human conditions needed for sustainable change. She brings senior experience in AI transformation, organisational adoption and stakeholder engagement, helping leaders translate complex change into practical, human-centred action. As SPAN’s Advisory Board Member for Ethics, Governance and Responsible Innovation, Elizabeth supports the development of social prescribing awareness, education and collaboration in the UAE, with particular attention to trust, accountability, systems change and long-term societal impact.
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SPAN Ambassador, Mental Health Access & Community Wellbeing
Misha Akbar is a mental health entrepreneur and former HR business partner based between San Francisco and Dubai. Drawing on 16 years of experience as an HRBP at Silicon Valley SaaS companies, she founded Sama Health, a platform bringing culturally relevant, pay-per-session mental health support to South Asian communities across the Gulf, with an initial focus on the UAE. She holds an MSc in neuroscience and psychology of mental health from King's College London, and her work focuses on closing the gap between the mental health support available to South Asian communities, especially within workplaces, and how often people actually use it. She is particularly interested in how cultural stigma and generational patterns shape that gap, and in building practical, employer-based pathways that make professional support easier to access.
SPAN ambassaDor Medical Education & Training
​Dr. Khalil is a double board-certified internal medicine physician and clinical informaticist with active clinical practices in the US and the UAE. In addition to advising health tech and primary care organizations, he currently serves as the founder of Clinicly Direct Primary Care, Dubai's first direct primary care clinic.
SPAN Ambassador, Behavioural Health & Community Resources
Melissa O’Donnell, MS is a Behavior Analyst and Clinical Operations and Population Health Advisor with over 15 years of experience across behavioral health and integrated care systems in the GCC.
She has held leadership roles across clinical governance and operations in inpatient, outpatient, and community settings, with a focus on population health and the design and delivery of community-based programs. Her work centers on translating clinical standards, regulatory frameworks, and policy into scalable, high-performing service models with measurable social impact.
Melissa has worked in advisory roles with healthcare organizations, government authorities, and academic institutions across the region. She holds multiple licenses and certifications in behavior analysis and has contributed to research and publications in behavioral health.
Ambassador, Ayurvedician, Clinical Fermentista, Holistic Health Specialist
Integrative Ayurvedician, Clinical Fermentista, holistic health specialist & educator with over 29 years of experience in preventive practice, whole-person wellbeing & food as medicine. She brings together Ayurveda, microbiome research, gut-brain insights & psychobiotic nutrition to create culturally relevant pathways for vitality & balance. Her work includes fermentation-based food education, mindful hydration & workplace programmes that cultivate self-awareness, social connection & sustainable daily habits. Dr Tejas supports social prescribing as a vital bridge between clinical care, culture, community resources & flourishing, resilient communities.