Parthesarathy Rajendran
Executive Director
Parthesarathy Rajendran (aka Sarathi) is a humanitarian professional and global health expert with nearly two decades of experience across crisis and development contexts. He holds degrees in Economics, Anthropology, and a Master’s in International Health from Heidelberg University (Germany).
Sarathi began his career with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in 2005, responding to the Indian Ocean Tsunami as a mental health project coordinator in southern India. Over 15 years with MSF, he held diverse leadership roles—including Head of Mission and Project Coordinator—in countries such as South Sudan, Malawi, South Africa, Ethiopia, Somalia, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Nauru. After leaving MSF in 2017, he worked with other INGOs, including People in Need and Solidarités International.
He also works as a Senior Researcher at the Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Sarathi designs capacity-strengthening programs and supports public health institutions in developing academic curricula. He has been a member of MSF International’s Board since 2021, serving briefly as International Vice President (2024–2025).
Dr Anuradha Saibaba
Director – Strategy & Planning
Dr Anuradha Saibaba joined Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in 2023 as Director of Strategy & Planning. She is a lawyer and an academician with twenty years of diverse experience in prestigious national and international institutions. She taught for a decade at India’s premier National Law School of India University, Bengaluru. In the humanitarian sector, as a Legal Advisor and the Head of the Legal Unit at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Regional Delegation for India, she has worked extensively in countries in South Asia. She was also a legal and detention delegate at ICRC, Abuja, Nigeria. She served as Director & Senior Faculty with the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. She possesses a Doctorate in Law specializing in international & human rights laws and has authored several books and articles. She brings with her strategic academic and legal acumen.
Ghada Khemissi
Director – Programmes Unit
Ghada Khemissi joined Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in 2011 and has worked in various capacities, mainly internationally (Burkina Faso, Iraq, Afghanistan, India, Turkey, Haiti, Libya, etc.), with MSF and other humanitarian organizations in technical and management roles. She also brings strong MSF institutional knowledge after working closely with the MSF International Board for over two years. Ghada graduated from the Faculty of Pharmacy in Tunisia and holds a master’s degree in Medicines’ Regulatory Affairs from Reims University in France. She took courses in Politics, Economics, and Issues of Global Health Policy at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and is currently continuing her academic journey at Manchester University, studying for an MSc in Humanitarian Practice.
Ghada Saafan
Director – Communications
Ghada Saafan brings 16 years of communications experience, including 6 years with MSF, with a track record of achievements in several managerial roles in various organisations and diverse teams. She enjoys empowering her teams in areas of strategic communications, media engagement, digital innovation, organisational management, and tackling market dynamics. Ghada is adept at unlocking new contexts to enhance engagement with humanitarian issues and MSF’s advocacy goals and has done so in countries including Lebanon, Iraq, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Greece, and Bulgaria. Before MSF, she worked with USAID, UN OCHA, ILO, and other NGOs. She has an MBA in Marketing from Georgia State University, USA; and is pursuing a Masters in Humanitarian Practice from Manchester University, UK.
R. Govindraj
Director – Finance
Simi Basheer
Director – Human Resources
Simi Basheer has been the Director of HR and Facilities for MSF South Asia since January 2022. She joined MSF in 2014 and has done missions in DRC and CAR and then started her journey to work in India as Human Resources Officer in 2016. She has also worked in the MSF South Asia office as the Deputy Head of HR where she was responsible for coordinating international field HR activities for the South Asia region including managing the team members in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Before joining MSF, Simi has 10 years of experience working in different roles in the Indian Army and took retirement in the rank of Major. She has served with the United Nations as a Peacekeeper in Congo, where she was introduced to the humanitarian sector.
