Hassan holds BSC (1977) & MSC (1983) in Agric Econ from Univ of Khartoum, Sudan & MSC (1988) and PhD (1989) in Economics from Iowa State Univ. He is the ex-director of the Centre for Environmental Economics and Policy in Africa (CEEPA), at the University of Pretoria and previously held positions with CSIR in South Africa, and CIMMYT International. He has served as member of the UN Committee for Development Policy (CDP); Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Science Committee; CGIAR Science Council (ISPC); Human Sciences Research Council of SA; CGIAR Climate Change Challenge Program (CCCP) Board; Academic Advisory Panel for The World Development Report on Climate Change; Board of Stockholm Resilience Centre; GEF Science and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP IV); Science Panel of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. His honours include, member, Academy of Sciences of South Africa (since 2005); University of Pretoria Chancellor Medal for Research (2011); Four times Univ. of Pretoria “Achiever: Academic Excellence” (2005 to 2014). He is founding chief editor of the African Journal of Agric. and Resource Economics and has published more than 140 refereed publications including 12 books.

Touré is currently Vice-President of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) for the advancement of science in developing countries, representing the African Region. He is a founding and active member of the Senegalese National Academy of Science and the African Academy of Science. He served as scientist and science manager for 32 years, respectively in the Senegalese agricultural research system (1974-1988) at the Work Bank and at the Global Environment Facility headquarters in Washington, D.C. (1989-2006). He was educated at the University of Orleans (B.Sc.), and the University of Rennes (M.Sc and PhD in agronomy and soil sciences), France. As a researcher, Touré worked in the fields of agronomy, soil chemistry, desertification and sustainable land management. As a science manager, he was instrumental in the design and management of the nascent Senegalese agricultural research system. He spearheaded the establishment of regional collaborative platforms at both sub-regional and continental levels. Prior to and after retirement, he was actively involved in the discussion and implementation of the SDGs related to the protection of the environment and enhancing livelihoods.

Coutsoudis is a public health scientist and a Professor in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, at the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. She obtained her PhD in 1993 from the same university, and made important contributions on child nutrition, breastfeeding and prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS. Her awards include: the 2004 Nutrition Society of South Africa Award for her contribution to nutrition research in South Africa; the 2005 Amnesty International South Africa for protecting human rights in South Africa; the 2006 Convocation of University of KwaZulu-Natal for her outstanding contribution to medical science and society; and the 2009 Science for Society Gold Medal of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa, of which she is a Fellow. She is also a Fellow of of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. In 2000, she established the first community-based breastmilk bank in South Africa to provide donor breastmilk to AIDS orphans, and was one of the founding members of the Human Milk Banking Association of South Africa, which she chairs. She is involved in putting in place low-cost technology for human milk banks.

Prof Ogallo was a full professor of Meteorology at Nairobi University, Kenya. He is a former director of the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Center (ICPAC)i (formerly known as Regional Drought Monitoring Centro-NDMC). Before joining ICPAC he worked with World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva , and also as a coordinator of UNDP / WMO project at NDMC in Nairobi. Between 2015-2018 coordinated UNDP/AfDB project on building resilience to disasters in the Horn of Africa, before returning back to NAIROBI university in January 2019. He has also served as secretary (CEO) of the Kenya National Council of Science and Technology. His work on African climate has included studies of its variability and change change, modelling, prediction, early warning and climate risk proofing applications. He has been awarded the WMO Award for encouragement of young scientists in 1982. He was among the IPCC scientists who received the 2007 Nobel Price Award. He is a fellow of TWAS , AAS , Kenya Academy of Sciences, etc. He contributes to the IPCC assessment reports