Nigeria’s former Minister of Health, Dr Muhammad Pate, has been chosen as Gavi’s new Chief Executive Officer.

At an extra meeting of the Gavi Board on Monday in Geneva, Pate’s new job was approved.

The alliance said that Pate will replace Dr Seth Berkley as CEO of Gavi on August 3.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Prof. José Manuel Barroso, the Chair of the Gavi Board, chose him after a year-long hiring process.

Barroso said this about the appointment: “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.”

Pate responded, “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.

“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,” he said.

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Berkley also had something to say about Pate’s appointment. He 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 have 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.”

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

NAN says that Pate, who used to be the Global Director for Health, Nutrition, and Population at the World Bank Group and the Director of the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children, and Adolescents, will now lead Gavi as it continues to help with routine vaccinations, outbreak response, and COVID-19 vaccinations around the world.

Between 2011 and 2013, he was also Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health.

In that job, he led a significant effort to bring back routine vaccinations and primary health care, was in charge of a presidential task force to get rid of polio, and gave the country new vaccines.