Muhammad Ali Pate, a Harvard professor who previously held top health positions in Nigeria, has stepped down as CEO of the Gavi global vaccine alliance, the organization announced.
Pate, a medical doctor trained in internal medicine and infectious disease, was set to take over on August 3rd, Gavi announced in February, succeeding US medical epidemiologist Seth Berkley, who had been in charge since 2011.
Pate informed Gavi “that he has taken an incredibly difficult decision to accept a request to return and contribute to his home country, Nigeria,” the statement said, without further details about the decision.
Gavi’s Chief Operating Officer David Marlow will instead assume the position of Interim Chief Executive Officer while the search for a new CEO continues.
The Gavi vaccine alliance is a non-profit organization created in 2000 to provide an array of vaccines to developing countries.
It says that since its inception, it has provided vaccines to more than 981 million children, “and prevented more than 16.2 million future deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 73 lower-income countries.”
Gavi, in collaboration with the World Health Organisation and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, has taken the lead on the Covax initiative.
So far, nearly 1.9 billion Covid vaccines have been shipped to 146 countries, with a focus on providing donor-funded vaccines to the 92 poorest economies.
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