Who we work with

Global Support and Development (GSD) is a humanitarian organization that works in close partnership with local, national, and regional actors to strengthen disaster readiness and enable effective response. Leveraging diverse capabilities, GSD supports partners by meeting immediate needs, providing critical information and analysis to aid decision-makers, and strengthening national systems to lead and coordinate rapid responses to sudden-onset disasters.

4SD was founded as a social enterprise to support the “Skills, Systems and Synergies for Sustainable Development” particularly for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – the agreed plan for the future of the Earth and her People.

4SD focuses particularly on the sustainable development goals on Health and Food given the backgrounds and skills that the Strategic Director Dr David Nabarro and Managing Director Florence Lasbennes, an agronomist, both possess.

4SD seeks to help people change the way they think, talk, act and lead on sustainable development. Its focus is on inclusion and on leaving no-one behind. It encourages co-creativity and partnering while aiming to ensure that Sustainable Development is about engaging and listening, inspiring and motivating, enabling and empowering, connecting and investing.

Dr Nabarro and Dr Norton worked together for the UN and WHO during the response to the devastating Ebola outbreaks that affected West Africa in 2014-15. Dr Nabarro led the UN response as the Secretary General’s special envoy for Ebola while Dr Norton managed the Emergency Medical Team response to Ebola.

Dr Nabarro was appointed as one of six Special Envoys to the WHO Director-General on COVID-19, providing strategic advice and high-level political advocacy and engagement in different parts of the world to help WHO coordinate the global response to the pandemic.

4SD and Respond Global are collaborating on the response to COVID-19 through support and advocacy to Countries, Not for Profits and the Private sector. Current areas of common interest have included advice to manufacturers in the food and meat industry around COVID safety, the fitness and health sector and in supporting health charities continue to provide essential health services.

Dr Matt Brearley is Australia’s pre-eminent occupational heat stress consultant, conducting and applying research to guide industry practice.

Matt is the founder and managing director of Thermal Hyperformance, a unique company that aims to help workplaces manage heat stress amongst its staff, particularly in the Australian resources sector.

Matt was the 2018 Exercise Scientist of the Year, holds a PhD in Thermal Physiology, and has a reputation for his unrelenting pursuit of maximising human performance in hot environments.

He has worked across a wide range of settings including emergency response, law enforcement, military, mining, construction, utilities and transportation.

Commencing his career in elite sport settings, Matt has worked for the Northern Territory Institute of Sport and National Heat Training and Acclimatisation Centre, and was the heat specialist for the Australian team in the lead up to, and during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

Together in partnership, Respond Global and Dr Matt Brearley can provide essential training and education in the area of heat stress management – please contact us for more information.