Andrew Jones

Andrew is an international development specialist who has worked in the sector for nearly thirty years. Most recently, he spent eight years working with THET as Head of Partnerships, before retiring in January 2018. During his time with THET, Andrew led the team which designed and implemented the DFID-funded Health Partnership Scheme.

One of Andrew’s specific interest in Global Health is the provision of access to safe surgery, obstetric, trauma and anesthesia care for people in low- and middle-income countries. He also focuses on the provision of training for biomedical engineers and technicians, whose presence in healthcare facilities can dramatically improve outcomes for patients through the availability of appropriate, functioning equipment.

Since retiring, Andrew has extended this interest and works part-time in a consultancy role for a number of organisations with similar interests.

“For me, access to essential surgery, obstetric, trauma and anaesthesia represents an opportunity to change lives significantly. We should not, for instance, be tolerating the huge prevalence of obstetric fistula which affects the lives of hundreds of thousands of women, almost exclusively in low-resource settings. Obstetric fistula is preventable and fixable, but there remains a shortage of trained professionals to be able to tackle the issue.”

Andrew has four children, three of whom live abroad, so retirement has provided opportunities to connect with them in person, which has been a great privilege for him and his wife, Cilla.