Dr. Ritu Jain is president of DEBRA International (and co-founder and head of the global organisation’s Singapore chapter), supporting people living with the rare genetic disorder, Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). She is co-chair Singapore’s HTA consumer panel (ACE), serves as Secretary, Rare Diseases International and as Vice-President of Globalskin, the International Alliance of Dermatology Patient Organisations. Dr. Jain is also part of the Interdisciplinary Scientific Committee at the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium and co-leads the Stigma Task Force that seeks to identify and address barriers to health access among those with rare disorders. She is currently serving as a member of a WHO steering committee towards the development of a Framework for newborn screening, diagnosis and management of birth defects integrated into routine health services in LMICs.
Her primary patient facing work is advocacy and capacity building for health equity and care access for patients and caregivers living with rare diseases, particularly in the Global South.
In her day job, Dr. Jain holds concurrent appointments at the School of Humanities and the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine at the Nanyang Technological University. A sociolinguist by doctoral training she remains research active in her dual interests: Language Policy & Intergenerational Language Transmission as well as Health Equity and barriers to access such as that impeding populations living with HIV and other stigmatized conditions.
