Anaesthetist one of three new Overseas Aid commissioners

Dr Michelle Le Cheminant has experience of working in Africa and more widely as a charity volunteer. She is joined on the commission by Christopher Gregg and Dr Lindsay Jefferies.

The OADC, on behalf of the States, awards grants to charities to undertake development and humanitarian projects in the world’s least developed countries, helping to provide for the basic needs of people in the poorest parts of the world – including health, education, clean water and emergency food. The aim is to reduce human vulnerability and to promote sustainable change.

Its budget for 2022 is £3,225,000.

‘It’s a real honour to be appointed in this voluntary role and a fantastic opportunity for me to contribute to both our local community and to support valuable overseas initiatives,’ said Dr Le Cheminant, who was born in Guernsey and returned to the island to join the MSG as a consultant anaesthetist in 2019, becoming a partner in January 2022.

In 2017 she spent six months as a visiting lecturer at the University Teaching Hospital of Lusaka, volunteering with the Zambia Anaesthetic Development Project, as well as working with local teams to deliver rural outreach projects.

Since 2017, she has been a volunteer faculty anaesthetist with the eye care charity Orbis International, joining its Flying Eye Hospital on projects in Vietnam, China and Mongolia.

In 2018, on behalf of Orbis, she evaluated the anaesthetic service at a Malawi hospital to help plan future training projects.

She has also supported Orbis International with fundraising and helped develop its ambitious e-learning curriculum.

Recommending her appointment to States members, the commission said that Dr Le Cheminant’s medical expertise and her experience of working and teaching in the developing world would be of great benefit.

‘We are all immensely proud of the work that Michelle has done and continues to do to improve healthcare services in low- and middle-income countries through education and training. I’m sure she will make a very positive contribution to the work of the commission,’ said MSG chairman Dr Gary Yarwood.

‘When the commission launched the recruitment campaign I said that it always impressed me the depth of experience we have in such a small island – I certainly have not been disappointed,’ said OADC president Deputy Chris Blin.

‘I would also like to thank all those who applied for the positions, which were heavily oversubscribed with quality applications. Their interest is much appreciated.'

The other new commissioners

CHRIS GREGG is a chartered engineer and chartered IT professional. He has worked for the international Charity Mercy Ships for more than 22 years. He spent four years as a volunteer on a hospital ship working in West Africa, before transitioning to shore-based support work in the UK and USA in various roles for Mercy Ships including managing director of the world’s largest non-governmental hospital ship, Global Mercy.

He is currently working remotely from Guernsey.

DR LINDSAY JEFFERIES, managing director of Island Global Research, has an extensive academic background including a PhD in health economics. She has worked as an economist at the former UK Department for International Development, as a researcher in health economics at Oxford University, and as assistant professor in health economics in the Department for Global Health and Development at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.