Gavi welcomes appointment of global health leader and malaria expert Dr Rose Leke as Chair of Independent Review Committee
The Gavi Independent Review Committee (IRC) is responsible for reviewing all applications for new funding support submitted by Gavi-eligible countries
Dr Leke is a global expert in immunology and parasitology and a specialist in malaria
Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi: “We are privileged to have Dr Leke bring her deep experience, country knowledge, policy mastery, expertise in immunization and passion to the Gavi mission.”
Geneva, 7 February 2023 – Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) has announced the appointment of leading African immunologist, parasitologist and malariologist Dr Rose Gana Fomban Leke as the new Chair of Gavi’s Independent Review Committee (IRC).
A Cameroonian national, Dr Leke is Emeritus Professor at the University of Yaoundé, and has been a prominent and well-respected figure in global health and immunology for several decades.
The Gavi IRC is an independent committee of experts that are mandated to review countries’ applications for all types of new funding support, ensuring a holistic view of the broad portfolio of immunization and health systems support Gavi provides to countries, and to make recommendations for funding allocation to the Gavi CEO.
“We are privileged to have Dr Leke bring her deep experience, country knowledge, policy mastery, expertise in immunization and passion to the Gavi mission,” said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi. “As the Alliance enters a period of renewal after several years of emergency pandemic response, Dr Leke is the right person to chair the IRC as we look to support countries to recover, restore and expand routine immunization, reach zero-dose children, rollout critical innovations such as the HPV and malaria vaccines, and strengthen health systems and emergency response capacities.”
About Dr Rose Leke
Dr Leke brings extensive leadership experience in immunization to this new role, including those listed below.
She is currently Chair of the Africa Regional Certification Commission for Poliomyelitis Eradication, the Cameroonian National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG) and a co-chair of the Advisers to WHO on the Development of the Framework for Allocation of Malaria Vaccine Supply. Co-chair of the Board of Harvard University’s Defeating Malaria initiative, she additionally serves on WHO’s Malaria Policy Advisory Group (MPAG), the Malaria Elimination Oversight Committee, and is a member of the Global Certification Commission (GCC). Previously Dr Leke was Vice-Chair of the first Technical Evaluation Reference Group (TERG) of the Global Fund and member of the Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) for Ebola vaccine trials in Guinea.
In 2011, she won the African Union’s Kwame Nkrumah Scientific Award for Women. In 2018, Dr Leke was elected one of nine “Heroines of Health” by Women in Global Health, and in 2019 was identified by the Cameroon Medical Council as “Queen Mother” of the Cameroonian medical community. In 2021, Forbes recognized her on their list of “100 Innovations, Inventions & Icons from Africa”. In 2022, Africa Centres for Disease Control & Prevention recognized her “Achievement in Global Health Leadership” for contributions to the science and public health sectors in her home country of Cameroon and globally.
She is also a fellow of the Cameroon Academy of Sciences, The African Academy of Science, and The World Academy of Science, and an International Honorary Fellow of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH).
NOTES TO EDITORS
About the Gavi Independent Review Committee (IRC)
The IRC reviews all applications for new support submitted to Gavi from Gavi-implementing countries. It consists of technical experts knowledgeable on developing country contexts and relevant issues, and who have practical experience working in or with developing country governments, civil society, and other partners. Appointments to the IRC are confirmed by the Gavi Board, and the chair is appointed jointly by the Gavi CEO and the Chair of the Gavi Board’s Program and Policy Committee.
The breadth and complexity of Gavi’s programmes require an IRC consisting of specialists from a broad range of expertise, including in:
Routine immunisation programmes, especially at country level
Management of campaigns
Delivery of health services including child and adolescent health
Health systems strengthening and management
Epidemiology and disease control
Cold chain and logistics
Financial and budget analysis
Gender and equity
Learn more about the IRC here.
About Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate half the world’s children against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise a whole generation – over 981 million children – and prevented more than 16.2 million future deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 73 lower-income countries. Gavi also plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems as well as funding global stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningococcal and yellow fever vaccines. After two decades of progress, Gavi is now focused on protecting the next generation, above all the zero-dose children who have not received even a single vaccine shot. The Vaccine Alliance employs innovative finance and the latest technology – from drones to biometrics – to save millions more lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency. Learn more at www.gavi.org and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
Gavi is a co-convener of COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, together with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. In its role, Gavi is focused on procurement and delivery for COVAX: coordinating the design, implementation and administration of the COVAX Facility and the Gavi COVAX AMC and working with its Alliance partners UNICEF and WHO, along with governments, on country readiness and delivery.
The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. View the full list of donor governments and other leading organisations that fund Gavi’s work here.
