Balkiss is global public health professional with a focus on health policies, advocacy and multi-sectoral partnerships. She is also a Tunisian Medical Doctor specialized in Family Medicine. She holds three master’s degrees in Data Analytics, Environmental Public Health, Health Economics and Hospital Management. After serving as a healthcare professional during the pandemic, she leveraged her multidisciplinary expertise on a larger scale by working as a global health consultant. 

Prior to joining GHS in June 2022, Balkiss held the position of Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) officer at the Tunisian mission of the global humanitarian organization, Médecins du Monde, to support the cooperation project with the Tunisian Ministry of Public Health to foster the national COVID-19 response and immunization program.

Advocate for people’s right to the highest attainable standard of health, Balkiss passion about global health began over a decade ago when she was still a medical student. As a leader of different youth-led NGOs, including IFMSA, she learned how to highlight advocacy priorities and redraw the attention of key stakeholders towards the urgency of certain global health matters such as Climate Change and Health.

With her proficiency in five languages and deep understanding of the principles of engagement between governments and non-state actors, Balkiss took an active part in three World Health Assemblies (WHA), first representing IFMSA and more recently the World Medical Association (WMA). She currently serves as the vice chair of the WMA Junior Doctors’ Network.