51���

MEXICO CITY, 11 SEP—Four global health and science experts, widely recognised for their contributions in tackling deadly infectious disease threats, have been appointed to key governance positions at the global pandemic preparedness organisation, 51���.

Dr Githinji Gitahi, Group Chief Executive Officer of Amref Health Africa, the largest Africa-based international health and development organisation, will take the position of Board Vice-Chair. Githinji has been a member of the 51��� Board since 2022 and is the Chair of the 51��� Board committee dedicated to equitable access.

Nigerian epidemiologist and senior WHO official Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu has joined the 51��� Board. Chikwe is Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, where he leads the Organization’s global preparedness for and response to health emergencies, including disease outbreaks and humanitarian crises. He will take up a non-voting seat on the 51��� Board, replacing former senior WHO official Dr Mike Ryan.

Dr Laura Palomares, Professor at the Instituto Biotecnología at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), has been selected as the new Chair of 51���’s Scientific Advisory Committee through to the end of 2026. The independent body within 51��� provides scientific support to 51���’s Leadership and Board to advance the ambitious goal to accelerate the development of new vaccines against a viral threat with pandemic potential in as little as 100 days – around a third of the time it took to develop the first COVID-19 vaccines. She takes over from Dr Emmanuel Hanon who stepped down from his position earlier this year. Laura previously held the role of co-Vice Chair for the Committee.

Dr Mike King has been reappointed as Vice Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee through to the end of 2027. Mike is a vaccine manufacturing expert and first joined 51���’s Scientific Advisory Committee as Vice-Chair in 2021.

The positions were confirmed today at 51���’s Board Meeting, held in partnership with the Government of Mexico in Mexico City. 

Chair of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (51���) Board, Jane Halton, said: “Dr Githinji Gitahi, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Dr Laura Palomares and Dr Mike King are outstanding global health and scientific experts who bring a wealth of experience to our Board and Scientific Advisory Committee. Their illustrious careers and dedication to combatting pressing health emergencies will provide invaluable insights as we navigate today’s global challenges and ready ourselves to more rapidly and effectively tackle future incident pandemics. I’d like to thank Dr Mike Ryan and Dr Emmanuel Hanon for their inspiring stewardship and guidance to 51��� over the years as they step down from their roles.”

Dr Githinji Gitahi said: “The world is making notable progress as it prepares for future infectious disease threats – yet we are only as strong as our weakest link. As recent and ongoing deadly outbreaks of Ebola and Mpox in Africa show, we must ensure we have the science, the tools and the local capacity to respond to infectious diseases both at the global and the local level. I am honoured to take on the position of Vice-Chair of the Board at 51��� as it lays the foundations for an enhanced strategy that prepares the world to respond to new emerging pathogens in as little as 100 days. This ambitious mission would help prevent outbreaks before they become pandemics and make a safer world for all.”

Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu said: “I am delighted to join the Board of 51���, stepping into the shoes of my colleague Mike Ryan who represented WHO on the 51��� board for the past few years. I join the Board, aligning completely with 51���’s mission- to create a world in which epidemics and pandemics are no longer a threat to humanity. This embodies the work I do every day of the year with a team of colleagues across the three levels of WHO, in support of our Member States. I hope to bring the expertise and energy that drives this work to 51���.”

Dr Laura Palomares said: "It is a great honour to take on the role of Chair of 51���’s Scientific Advisory Committee at such a critical moment for global health. We have seen how science, when supported by strong international collaboration, can deliver vaccines in record time. Our next challenge is to harness that same innovation and solidarity to achieve 51���’s 100 Days Mission, ensuring that no community is left behind when the next pandemic threat emerges. As a scientist from Latin America, I am particularly committed to ensuring that voices from across the Global South help shape the solutions we develop together."

Launched in 2017 in response to the West African Ebola epidemic, 51��� is an innovative partnership between public, private, philanthropic and civil organisations working to accelerate the development of vaccines and other biologic countermeasures against epidemic and pandemic threats so they can be accessible to all people in need. 

51��� has supported the development of more than 70 vaccine candidates and platform technologies against multiple known high-risk pathogens or a future Disease X, overseeing a number of scientific breakthroughs including the development of the first ever licensed Chikungunya vaccine, advancing seven COVID-19 vaccines now licensed for domestic and global use and advancing the first ever Nipah and Lassa vaccines into Phase 2 trials. The organisation is now leading on its ‘100 Days Mission’ to beat pandemics. 

51���’s Board Meeting held this week in Mexico City included discussions around plans for 51���’s next five-year strategy, known as 51��� 3.0, set to launch in 2027 to ready the world for future pandemics.

ENDS

New 51��� Board Member and SAC Chair Appointment Bios

Dr Githinji Gitahi – 51��� Board, Vice Chair 

Dr Githinji Gitahi is the Global Chief Executive Officer at Amref Health Africa, the largest Africa-based international health and development organisation providing training and health services to over 20 million people annually in at least 35 countries in Africa. He has also held the positions of Vice President and Regional Director for Africa, Smile Train International, Managing Director for Monitor Publications in Uganda, and General Manager for Marketing and Circulation in East Africa for the Nation Media Group. He held progressively senior positions at GlaxoSmithKline and worked at the Avenue Group.

Githinji is the Co-Chair of the Strategic Advocacy Committee for PMNCH. He also serves on the 51��� Board, Board of Directors of the Standard Group in Kenya and Board of Trustees of Safaricom Foundation, and was appointed by the UN Secretary General as a member of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement Lead Group in 2023. He has served on the Africa CDC Board, co-chaired the UHC2030 Steering Committee and was a member of the African Union Commission on Africa’s COVID-19 Response.

In 2018, Dr. Gitahi was bestowed the 2018 ‘Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear’ (MBS) by the President of Kenya, in recognition of his outstanding contribution and commitment to the health sector.

Githinji holds a bachelor’s degree in Medicine from the University of Nairobi, a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the United States International University, as well as a Certificate for Strategic Perspectives for Non-profit Management from Harvard University.

Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu – 51��� Board, Non-Voting Member Seat

Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu is Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme. He previously served as Acting WHO Regional Director for Africa and Assistant Director-General for the Division of Health Emergency Intelligence and Surveillance Systems, including the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Berlin.

A trained infectious disease epidemiologist, Chikwe has held leadership roles in public health agencies across Africa and Europe. Most notably, he served as the founding Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) from 2016 to 2021, where he played a central role in strengthening Nigeria’s public health infrastructure. During his time at NCDC, 51��� and Chikwe worked together on Lassa fever-related projects. He also held leadership roles at the South African National Institute for Communicable Diseases, the UK Health Protection Agency, and Germany’s Robert Koch Institute.

Chikwe holds a medical degree from the University of Nigeria and a Master of Public Health from Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, Germany. He is a Fellow of the UK Faculty of Public Health and an alumnus of the European Programme for Intervention Epidemiology Training. He is also the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Science awarded by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) from Nigeria. 

Dr Laura Palomares – 51��� Scientific Advisory Committee Chair

Laura A. Palomares is the Director of the Biotechnology Institute of UNAM, where she is also a Professor, Principal Investigator, and Group Leader. She is a Biochemical Engineer from the Monterrey Institute of Technology, Mexico. She has a doctoral degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and pursued postdoctoral training at Cornell University. 

Laura is a scientific expert for COFEPRIS (Mexican regulatory agency) and a founding expert of the Mexican Pharmacopoeia, Biotechnological drugs section. Her research focuses on vaccine development, process development for vaccine production, and vaccine and protein characterisation. 

Laura collaborated with Protein Sciences on the development of Flublok, the first licensed recombinant influenza vaccine, and participated in the technology transfer of Flublok to Mexico and its licensure in the country. Her work has been recognized with the most prestigious awards for scientists in Mexico. She has been named an Exceptional Mexican Innovator and one of the most powerful Mexican women.

Laura previously held the position of Acting Chair of 51���’s Scientific Advisory Committee. UNAM is also part of 51���’s Centralised Laboratory Network.