The World Health Organization and the INSPIRE Evidence Lab at Georgia State University are co-chairs the INSPIRE Working Group and Community of Practice.
Dr. Greta Massetti is Professor and Chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences at Georgia State University, where she leads the INSPIRE Evidence Lab. Greta’s work addresses the epidemiology of violence against children, women, and girls, and the role of violence as a driver of infectious and chronic diseases. Greta is the global co-chair of the INSPIRE Working Group, a global collaborative to strengthen evidence informed policy to prevent and respond to violence against children. Greta’s work focuses on strengthening the measurement and availability of population data on gender and health and translating and scaling evidence to policy globally.
Dr. Sabine Rakotomalala, a child psychologist with over 25 years experience in child protection and psychosocial support, work at the WHO's Violence Prevention Unit. Previously with UNICEF, Terre des hommes, and the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, she led major child protection and violence prevention initiatives such as the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Networks (2007), the development and implementation of the Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Actions (2012), the development and implementation of the INSPIRE: Seven Strategies for ending violence against children technical package (2016) and the Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children (2025).
The INSPIRE package is managed by a small Secretariat the include the Care and Protection of Children (CPC) Learning Network at Columbia University, the Institute for Security Studies, United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, Joining Forces, Georgetown University and the co-chairs. The INSPIRE Working Group is coordinated by the Institute for Security Studies. The Secretariat convenes regularly and the coordinator supports the group's overall objectives.
Jody van der H
eyde is the global INSPIRE Working Group Coordinator at the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa. She is responsible for maintaining the functioning of the Working Group, ensuring decisions are actioned and enables conditions for mulitsectroal collaboration within the Working Group. She has published on various topics related to violence prevention and multisectoral collaboration in South Africa. She has a background in social sciences and a Masters Degree in Criminology form the University of Manchester.
The roles and functions of the Secretariat and coordinator are to:
Contribute to the development of the agenda of Working Group meetings.
Convene all meetings of the Working Group.
Maintaining momentum, shaping direction and ensuring that what is decided upon in meetings is actioned.
Provide regular communication to the Working Group.
Nurture relationships among Working Group members.
Cultivate a focus on equity - including seeking diverse membership, fostering conditions for everyone to be included.
