On December 29, 2020 GAVI(formerly theGlobal Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation),the vaccine alliance nominated Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare as a member on the GAVI Board.
i.He will represent the South East Area Regional Office(SEARO)/ Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO) constituency on the GAVI Board.
ii.He will succeed MyintHtwe, Union Minister of Health and Sports, Govt of Republic of the Union of Myanmar.
iii.He will be on the board from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2023.
About GAVI Board:
Functions
i.It is in charge of strategic direction and policy-making.
ii.It supervises the operations of GAVI and also monitors programme implementation.
iii.It provides a forum for balanced strategic decision making, innovation and partner collaboration, through a membership gained from a range of partner organizations and experts in the private sector.
Meeting
i.Generally, the board meets twice in a year in June and November/ December..
ii.It holds an annual retreat, normally in March or April.
iii.These meetings are usually attended in person.
About GAVI:
i.The primary focus is to Vaccinate all.
ii.It aims to save lives, reduce poverty and protect the world against the threat of epidemic
iii.It has helped vaccinate over 822 million children in the world’s poorest countries, preventing more than 14 million future deaths.
Note
GAVI is working in partnership with World Health Organization (WHO), Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI) along with developed and developing countries’ vaccine manufacturers on COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX), an alliance that aims to provide equal access to COVID vaccines to the developing nations.
Recent Related News:
On May 22, 2020, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan is set to take charge as the chairman of the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board at its 147th session, as the proposal regarding his appointment was signed at WHA73.
About GAVI:
GAVI was established by 12 July 1999 as an alliance of public and private sector organizations, institutions and governments, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UNICEF, the World Bank, WHO, vaccine manufacturers, NGOs and research and technical health institutes.
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland & Washington D.C., United States (U.S.)
Chair of the Board – Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Members of the Board– 28
