It is with much pleasure that CAAT-Community Alliance For Accessible Treatment announces the appointment of Furqan Waleed to the position of executive director of CAAT. Furqan will be relocating from Vancouver to join the CAAT team in October 2023. We were excited to welcome him and introduce him to our communities at our first Annual General Members’ Meeting on September 12th 2023.
Furqan comes to us with years of experiences in senior management at YouthCo, Vancouver where he has led HIV and hep C programming for youth living with HIV across the province, cultivated strategic partnerships with national organizations, and responsible for multiple organizational strategic planning, capacity building and financial development initiatives.
In addition, Furqan has extensive experiences in research and has led community-based research projects at AIDS Vancouver as well as serving as community advisory member on CIHR Clinical HIV Trials Network. His many advocacy efforts include his role as Canadian delegate to UNAIDS high-level meetings as well as many provincial and national campaigns on treatment access and immigration/refugee rights and policies.
Furqan describes himself as a refugee settler whose lived experience has provided him an intimate understanding of the pervasive effects of stigma, oppression, and marginalization that shape the realities of those living with HIV/HCV. He is resolute in his commitment to deconstructing barriers and decolonizing systems to cultivate an inclusive environment where people of all backgrounds can access the benefits of comprehensive and compassionate healthcare services.
Furqan’s deep understanding of intersectionality and anti-oppression and his strong sense of commitment to inclusive community building, GIPA/MEPA and social justice really shone through during our meetings. We are excited to welcome Furqan to the CAAT family and look forward to working with him to build the new CAAT together.
Alan Li & Trevor Gray
Co-chairs,
CAAT Board of Directors
Leave a Reply