The RCP assists physicians across the globe with improving healthcare worldwide, but this can’t be achieved without the help of our members and fellows. Our international network is supported through the global vice president, associate global directors (AGDs) and an extensive network of international advisers (IAs).
AGDs are appointed on an honorary basis for a 4-year term. They guide RCP global activity in their regions, build relationships with local physicians and institutions, participate in clinical training projects and act as RCP ambassadors. Since 2025, the global team has recently welcomed several new AGDs to their team, including:
- The Americas – Hariharan Iyer
- Asia Pacific – Swe Myint
- Middle East and North Africa – Mohammed Bakhit
- South Asia – Preetham Boddana
- Sub-Saharan Africa – Dzifa Dey.
We asked the new AGDs about their goals for the upcoming years, and the AGDs who have served for longer than 6 months how they experienced their role.
Professor Hariharan Iyer – AGD for the Americas
Professor Hariharan Iyer is a transplant nephrologist and professor of medicine at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. His work focuses on developing approaches to expanding living donor renal transplantation through positive crossmatch, ABO-incompatible transplants, paired exchange and desensitisation protocols. He has been AGD for the Americas since August 2025.
Working with the RCP’s excellent team over the past year has been a wonderful experience. During my visit to the UK in November 2025, I had the opportunity to meet and have lunch with the RCP president, global vice president and head of global at the RCP. We shared thoughts and innovative ideas to enable the RCP to expand its global footprint.
Since 2025, we have seen an increasing number of nominations for fellowship to the RCP from the Americas, a testament to the RCP’s global popularity. Being part of the grading and adjudicating team has been a great learning experience. There is great enthusiasm within the RCP fellows and international advisers from the Americas to make meaningful contributions to the RCP’s global outreach activities. I am eagerly looking forward towards this next phase!
Professor Hariharan Iyer
AGD for the Americas
Dr Swe Myint – AGD for the Asia Pacific region
Dr Swe Myint is a consultant endocrinologist at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and an honorary associate professor at the University of East Anglia. An elected RCP councillor and PACES examiner, she is deeply dedicated to leadership, service improvement and medical education. She started her role as AGD for the Asia Pacific region in February 2026.
I’m pleased to take the role of AGD for the Asia Pacific region. Coming from Myanmar originally, I feel a natural connection to this part of the world, and I hope that background will help me understand the region’s needs and perspectives.
My first priority is to get to know our international advisers, fellows and members – to listen, learn, and build trust and supportive relationships across the region.
I will also continue the valuable work led by my predecessor, including the clinical leadership programmes, quality improvement projects and travel fellowships.
Looking ahead, I hope to help develop two to three meaningful regional programmes, focusing on areas such as women’s leadership, inclusive professional networks, training, guidelines, audit, service improvement, leadership development, health equality and fellowship opportunities. I look forward to working with you all. Thank you.
Dr Swe Myint
AGD for the Asia Pacific region
Dr Mohamed Bakhit – AGD for the Middle East and North Africa
Dr Mohamed Bakhit is a consultant in diabetes, endocrinology and general internal medicine at University Hospital Lewisham in London. His clinical interests encompass diabetes technologies, diabetes care for young adults and conditions affecting the adrenal and pituitary glands. He has been AGD for the Middle East and North Africa since August 2025.
When I stepped into the role of RCP AGD for the Middle East and North Africa in summer 2025, I was impressed by the ambition and support of the RCP global team. Serving an economically and geopolitically diverse region brings both complexity and opportunity, reflected in rising engagement, including 40 fellowship applications in the last round. The success of local networks has sparked interest in similar models across the region. In the coming year, we aim to strengthen international advisers’ involvement, launch a remote education programme for colleagues in areas of crisis and deliver a second RCP Update in medicine – global version.
Dr Mohamed Bakhit
AGD for the Middle East and North Africa
Dr Preetham Boddana – AGD for South Asia
Dr Preetham Boddana is a consultant nephrologist in the NHS and serves as director of medical education at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. As an MRCP(UK) PACES examiner and national IMT interviewer, he brings substantial expertise in postgraduate training and leadership, alongside longstanding professional links with South Asia. Preetham started his role in February 2026.
I am honoured to take up the role as AGD for South Asia and to continue the excellent work of my predecessor, Dr Haroon Hafeez, drawing on my experience in medical education, leadership and global public health.
My goal is to turn evidence into action, supporting decisions that promote healthier and more equitable communities for present and future generations. Having grown up in the subcontinent and now working in the UK, I value cultural diversity and the strength of collaboration.
I believe progress depends on partnerships across disciplines and borders, with education central to building a sustainable South Asian network aligned with RCP values.
Dr Preetham Boddana
AGD for South Asia
Professor Dzifa Dey – AGD for sub-Saharan Africa
Professor Dzifa Dey is an associate professor at the University of Ghana Medical School and a consultant rheumatologist who leads the rheumatology unit at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana. Having completed fellowship training in internal medicine and specialised rheumatology training at University College London Hospital, she is widely acknowledged for her influential role in advancing rheumatology and medical education throughout Africa. Professor Dzifa Dey started her role as AGD for sub-Saharan Africa in February 2026.
I see my role as AGD for sub-Saharan Africa as building trusted institutional partnerships that strengthen physician education, clinical standards and system leadership across the region.
My priority is to translate the RCP’s global vision into practical, locally relevant impact, expand access to high-quality CPD, support quality improvement, and amplify regional expertise by building a connected, empowered community of physicians who are supported by the RCP’s global standards – and, in turn, I hope these physicians will shape these standards through their experiences.
Above all, the RCP should be seen as a trusted, long-term partner; collaborative, respectful and committed to sustainable impact.
Professor Dzifa Dey
AGD for sub-Saharan Africa
