Ruth Simister

Ruth Simister is the Senior Advisor for Human Rights Response in the Programmes department of Frontline AIDS. Ruth manages an emergency response programme for communities most affected by HIV across sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and South-East Asia. Since 2022 she has led work with partners to pilot, strengthen and document local/national response mechanisms for human rights emergencies; this now forms a core part of Frontline AIDS strategic approach in its LGBT+ human rights programme. Ruth’s background is in the anthropology of pandemics, and HIV and SRHR programming for LGBT+ people, sex workers, and youth. She holds degrees from SOAS, Central European University and the University of Oxford.