Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has appointed the former Minister of Health, Dr Muhammad Pate, as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Pate’s appointment was confirmed at an extraordinary meeting of the Gavi Board in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday.

The alliance said Pate will take over as the CEO of Gavi from Dr Seth Berkley on August 3, 2023.

He was selected following a yearlong recruitment process personally overseen by the Chairman of the Gavi Board, Prof. Jose Manuel Barroso.

Commenting on the appointment, Barroso said: “Pate stood out in a field of world-class candidates. With his knowledge and experience of both national immunisation programming and international emergency response and global finance, I am confident that Gavi will continue to build on its vision and mission, as well as navigate the many challenges and opportunities we will face.”

Responding, Pate said: “I’m deeply honoured to be joining Gavi as its incoming CEO. Gavi is one of the most impactful organisations in global health, a testament to the great work of the Alliance partners and Secretariat staff.

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“It will be my privilege to lead it, building on the work of Dr Berkley, and continue to support countries to scale up critical routine immunisation programmes, reach more zero-dose children, expand access to new vaccines, transform primary health care systems, and help fight outbreaks and future pandemics.”

Also commenting on Pate’s appointment, Berkley said: “Leading Gavi and helping the Alliance to continually surpass itself in terms of saving lives, protecting children and supporting countries during global health emergencies has been the greatest honour of my career.

“I am proud and humbled to have been part of what the Alliance has achieved, and I am confident in its future under Pate’s leadership: having worked with him during his time as Minister and at the World Bank, I know he understands intimately the landscape we work in and will be uncompromising in his drive for public health equity.”

Pate is a Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership in the Department of Global Health and Population at Harvard University.

Pate formerly served as the Global Director for Health, Nutrition and Population at the World Bank Group and Director of the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents, would now lead Gavi as it continues its work to support routine immunisation, outbreak response, and COVID-19 vaccinations around the world.

He also served as Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health between 2011 and 2013.

While, in that role, he led a flagship initiative to revive routine vaccinations and primary health care, chaired a presidential task force to eradicate polio, and introduced new vaccines into the country.

The Star