Trustees
The Board of Trustees is responsible for the governance of Medical Aid Films, bringing expertise from a range of professional areas and sectors.
Sean McDonnell (Chair)
Sean is a digital transformation specialist currently working at BSI. He has worked in a range of global organisations over the last twenty years leading change programmes improving the experience of internal and external audiences. He has been volunteering for the last six years with Medical Aid Films on their digital marketing activities.
Joseph Home
Joe is a London-based public health doctor with experience in policy, quality improvement and academia. He has worked in clinical medicine, NHS management and The Health Foundation, a policy thinktank. In 2022 he acted as clinical advisor to General Sir Gordon Messenger’s Secretary-of-State commissioned review of health and social care leadership.
Joe holds a medical degree from Peninsula Medical School, a masters from the University of Manchester School of Law, and a Global-MBA from Alliance Manchester Business School. He also holds an honorary academic position from the University of Salford and a national representative position at the British Medical Association trade union.
Rachael Akidi Okwir 
Rachael Akidi Okwir is the interim Head of Journalism for Africa at the BBC World Service. She leads an award-winning team of journalists in the UK and across Africa, producing content that reaches a weekly audience of more than 100 million in 12 languages on radio, television, digital and social media. She has extensive experience leading change and digital transformation in large newsrooms, and led the BBC’s expansion in the East and Horn of Africa.
Rachael is passionate about reaching young and digital audiences.
She holds a BA in Mass Communication from Makerere University Kampala, and an MA Public Communications from the University of Westminster London.
Matt Jackson
Matt Jackson (he/him) is Country Representative for UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, in Viet Nam. Prior to his appointment to Viet Nam, Matt was Director of UNFPA’s London Representation Office. Matt was previously a diplomat at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) working on international development, climate change and multilateralism including at the UK Mission to the United Nations in New York where he negotiated the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and as Chief of Staff to the UK Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative on Climate Change. Matt has over 20 years’ experience specialising in gender equality, sustainable development, human rights and climate change. Matt holds an MSc in International Development from SOAS University of London and a BA (double) in Spanish and French from the University of Manchester.
Ankit Soni
Ankit is a Senior Manager at HSBC and focuses on Organisational Design, executing on strategic initiatives and Improving Business Performance within the Commercial and Investment Bank across Europe. He also has extensive experience in Risk management within Financial Services.
Ankit began his career qualifying as an accountant within public practice and previous to HSBC worked in the Investment Management industry where he worked for EY carrying out financial audits of companies and funds.
He is passionate about giving back and is also a member of the Rotary Club of Docklands.
Sonal Bakrania
Sonal is the Risk Director at ABN Amro UK Bank responsible for advising on the management of the Enterprise risk profile for the UK business. She has over 19 years of audit and risk management expertise, with roles held across Internal Audit, Group Operational Risk & Strategy, as well as the Chief Controls Office at HSBC Group, and previously External Audit and Transaction Services at PwC.
Sonal is passionate about supporting local communities through her roles as Chair of the UK ABN Amro Bank CSR Committee and National Childbirth Trust Local Committee member, as well as through international development initiatives with local governments in Laos, Palestine and Israel.
Debbie Deeney
Debbie is a Senior Director and Executive Producer, with over 30 years’ experience in long and short form content, commercials, animation, documentaries and live events. She started her career at the BBC and has since worked for multiple independent production companies in the UK and in the US. She has also been Head of Productions at Medical Aid Films and now manages partnership content at a digital entertainment company.
In her spare time she runs a community café for the elderly and is passionate about Medical Aid Films’ focus on getting appropriate and accessible maternal and child health information to where it is needed most.