Heni Meke: from nurse to CEO
By Ashlee Betteridge
17 November 2017
An interest in supporting people with HIV/AIDS took Heni Meke’s career from the frontlines as an army nurse to working in government. Now she heads Anglicare PNG, one of Papua New Guinea’s biggest NGOs, which has grown over the years with support from the Australian aid program. Anglicare runs a large HIV clinic in Port Moresby, which keeps 1,300 HIV-positive patients alive through anti-retroviral treatment. It also manages a nationwide adult literacy program and other development programs.
In the latest in our 2017 Aid Profiles series, Heni speaks to Stephen Howes about the challenges of running a complex national NGO, the impact of recent Australian aid funding cuts, and what drives her to keep going in a role that is sometimes “just sleeping and work”.
Catch up on all the Aid Profiles here.
About the author/s
Ashlee Betteridge
Ashlee Betteridge was the Manager of the Development Policy Centre until April 2021. She was previously a Research Officer at the centre from 2013-2017. A former journalist, she holds a Master of Public Policy (Development Policy) from ANU and has development experience in Indonesia and Timor-Leste. She now has her own consultancy, Better Things Consulting, and works across several large projects with managing contractors.
