Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is re-appointed as chair of Gavi board
- The Gavi organisation re-appoints Nigerian’s former minister of finance and coordinator of the economy, Okonjo-Iweala, as chair for another 3-year term
- Okonjo-Iweala describes her re-appointment as a great honour
Reactions have trailed the re-appointment of Nigerian’s former minister of finance and coordinator of the economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
Gavi is a global health initiative of billionaire, Bill & Melinda Gates set up with the aim of saving children’s lives and protecting people’s health, by increasing equitable use of vaccines in third worlds and developing countries.
Announcing her reappointment, the organization on its website stated that Okonjo-Iweala was re-appointed for another 3-year term due to her instrumental leadership.
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Gavi stated that: "Since her appointment in 2016, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s leadership has enabled the Alliance to further its engagement with developing countries and for partners to scale-up and finance immunisation programmes, while fostering public-private initiatives to improve access to healthcare for those most in need. Dr Okonjo-Iweala has also been an instrumental advocate for the positive economic benefits of vaccination.
"The direction she has provided to the Gavi Board has been critical in the implementation of the Gavi 2016-2020 strategy, which aims to support the vaccination of a further 300 million children against life-threatening diseases, preventing 5 to 6 million deaths."
In reaction, Okonjo-Iweala described her re-appointment as a great honour.
The former minister in a statement said: “I am greatly honoured by the confidence the Gavi Alliance Board has placed in me and as Chair of the Board I am excited to be given the opportunity to continue to dedicate my work to that greatest purpose of protecting the lives of millions of the poorest children in the world with life-saving vaccines,” said Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. “Universal access to immunisation will play a fundamental role in bringing about healthy, resilient populations and in ensuring that we develop stronger economies as we face the challenges of the next century.”
Okonjo-Iweala also shared a news report of her re-appointment on her Facebook page.
However, her post was greeted with mixed feelings by some Nigerians.
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While some persons congratulated her for her feat, others accused her of being part of the former administration which looted the nation’s treasury.
See reactions below:
Since leaving politics, Okonjo-Iweala has continued to gain recognition on the international stage.
Legit.ng recalls that she was recently included as part of a team of top economists tasked to review issues related to global financial governance.
The team which is constituted of eminent persons was formed by the G20 finance ministers to review global financial governance and see how the financial system can deliver better and more impactful outcomes for people, especially those less well off.
The deputy prime minister of Singapore, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, is the chairman of the 16-member international group of top economists and leaders which has been tasked to review issues related to global financial governance.
In the video below, Legit.ng TV asked some Nigerians if think the country is almost out of recession as statistics state. Watch responses.
Source: Legit.ng
