^{27 March 2024}

Founding RISE Director, Professor Rebekah Brown is departing the program and Monash University, to commence a new appointment as Provost and the Senior Vice-President at the Australian National University in Canberra.

Professors Karin Leder and Diego Ramirez-Lovering will take on the roles of Program Co-Directors, and Rebekah will continue to formally contribute to the governance of the program.

Professor Brown said establishing RISE and growing the program to where it is now has been an honour.

“When a small group of us here at Monash and experts around the world came together in 2016 to begin conceiving of RISE, we knew that repairing degraded conditions and improving health in informal settlements would be an incredibly complex endeavour.

“It has been such a privilege to collaborate with our global partners on our shared mission – and work hand-in-hand with the Governments of Fiji and Indonesia to support their plans for sustainable growth and development.

“I’m especially proud of the lasting capacity and expert knowledge that RISE is fostering with our teams and academic partners in Fiji and Indonesia. These new ways of working are proof that, given the chance, such initiatives can be driven by those best-placed to lead them,” she said.

Incoming Program Co-Director Professor Karin Leder has led RISE’s Research arm since the program’s inception. “Rebekah is a passionate advocate for viewing human health as being inextricably linked with our environments. She understands that transforming health in vulnerable settings like informal settlements demands new, creative solutions.

“It has been a joy to work together developing the first-ever rigorous scientific evidence of our water-sensitive infrastructure in informal settlements,” Leder said.

Fellow Program Co-Director Professor Diego Ramirez-Lovering has been leading the delivery of RISE’s Intervention. He said, “Rebekah established our incredible relationship with our principal partner the Wellcome Trust, she supported the setting up of our global teams, hubs, and laboratories, and reset our operations to adapt to the impossible-to-imagine situation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s been a privilege to work together to bring critical water and sanitation services to informal settlement communities – and promote a locally-led delivery model that gives greater agency to our research and implementation partners in Fiji and Indonesia,” he said.

RISE continues its operations, constructing sustainable water and sanitation infrastructure in informal settlements in Fiji and Indonesia, and scientifically monitoring its impacts on the health of the environment and residents.

As a global leader in water-sensitive cities and nature-based solutions, RISE Director of Scale-up Professor Tony Wong is leading the program’s long-term ambition of scaling up the approach across the Asia-Pacific, to give millions the opportunity to live healthier and safer lives.

"It is estimated that more than 1 billion people live in informal settlements globally, many in the most inhospitable conditions and disproportionately impacted by climate change. The greatest value we can extract from RISE’s research lies in our ability to upscale, to reach these communities.

“At the conclusion of the research, our priority is to commence upscaling to reach the 150 settlements in Makassar, Indonesia, and 180 settlements in Greater Suva, Fiji, where we have already built in-country technical capacities for the innovation,” Wong said.

^{Left: Professor Karin Leder is Co-Lead of the Planetary Health Division, and Head of Infectious Disease Epidemiology Unit at Monash University's School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.
Right: Professor Diego Ramirez-Lovering is Associate Dean of International & Engagement and Director of the Informal Cities Lab at Monash University's Department of Architecture.}