GAVI selects next board chair in Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

The Vaccine Alliance, GAVI, named former Nigerian Minister of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala its board chair-elect after an international competitive search process; she'll assume the role in January. Okonjo-Iweala will take the position as the organization seeks to reach every child with lifesaving vaccines; it has said that every year 19 million miss out on the full course. Additionally, she'll play a role in assisting more than 20 nations with growing economies transition from GAVI support as they prepare to self-fund their immunization programs. In a statement, Okonjo-Iweala said she'll work to build on GAVI's foundation "to create sustainable programmes that will drive down vaccine-preventable diseases, reach every child and provide them with a sound basis for their futures." She'll succeed Dagfinn Høybråten, former Norwegian Minister of Health. More