100 WATER HEROES: SHAMA KARKAL

CEO of Swasti Health Catalyst

Shama Karkal is the CEO of Swasti Health Catalyst, a health resource centre that seeks to “transform the lives of the marginalised communities by ensuring their access to quality healthcare.” Their core focus is on improving Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) standards in 29 countries throughout the world. In India alone, they serve 14 states and 2 union territories.

Shama has worked in public health sector for over 12 years, with experience ranging from developmental disabilities, to maternal and child health. Prior to working with Swasti, Shama obtained her Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Maryland, specialising in Social Action and Community Development.

Shama moved on to work on public health in both the USA and India, and led the highly successful Avahan India AIDS Initiative.

At Swasti, Shama takes charge of their responses to various public health concerns throughout India, and handles international communication between the government, private sector, academia and non-profit partners. In addition to her work at Swasti, Shama is also a Steering Committee Member at the Asia Pacific Alliance for Sexual and Reproductive Health, and a Trustee of the Catalyst Foundation.

Shama is one of our #100WaterHeroes because of her commitment to bettering the public health sector, particularly through WASH initiatives

Twitter: @ShamaKarkal

Linkedin: in.linkedin.com/in/shamakarkal