Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance on Monday announced former Nigerian health minister, Dr. Muhammad Ali Pate as its new Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Pate will take over as the CEO on August 3, 2023.
Dr. Pate, a proven global health expert with national and international experience, will lead Gavi as it continues to support routine immunization, epidemic response, and COVID-19 immunizations around the world.
Dr. Muhammad Ali Pate was chosen after a year-long recruitment process personally reviewed by the Chair of the Gavi Board, Professor José Manuel Barroso.
Dr. Pate, who holds an MBA from Duke University in the United States, served as Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health from 2011 to 2013. In this capacity, he oversaw a major project to reintroduce routine immunizations and basic health care, chaired a presidential task force to eradicate polio, and introduced new vaccines throughout the country.
Between 2019 and 2021, Dr. Pate was the World Bank’s Global Director for Health, Nutrition, and Population and Director of the Global Financing Facility. He oversaw the Bank’s US$ 18 billion COVID-19 global health response and served on numerous boards, including Gavi, the Global Fund, CEPI, and UNAIDS.
He is presently the Julio Frenk Professor of Public Health Leadership at Harvard Chan School of Public Health, and has served on a number of health-related boards and expert panels in the public, corporate, and not-for-profit sectors in the course of his career.
“Dr Muhammad Ali Pate stood out in a field of world-class candidates,” Professor Barroso remarked of the appointment. He added, “With his knowledge and experience of both national immunization 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.”