The board of directors of Gavi Vaccine Alliance, a global vaccine company have elected a Bauchi-born scholar and a two-time governorship aspirant, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, as its new president.
Jose Manuel Boroso, Chairman of the Board of Directors and the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the European Union, announced the development, saying with Pate’s vast knowledge and experience, the organisation will continue to build on its vision and missions.
Pate who is a specialist in infectious diseases stood out in a field of world-class candidates, Boroso disclosed, announcing further the health guru will take over leadership of Gavi from August 3 to succeed an American Seth Berkley who had held the position since 2011.
“With Prof Mohammed Pate’s 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 missions as well as navigate many challenges and opportunities we will face,” he said.
Gavi Vaccine Alliance is a public–private global health partnership with the goal of increasing access to immunization in poor countries which was established in the year 2000 to provide vaccines to developing countries.
It is a leading organisation to collect drugs donated by major countries and companies as a contribution to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the coalition of organizations fighting epidemics.
Responding to his selection, the 50-year-old professor, thanked the Gavi’s Directors for the given opportunity, pledging to apply his vast experience to the running of the organization.
Professor Pate was a Minister of Health between 2011 and 2013 and also became the World Bank’s Director of Health and Director of the Bank’s Finances between 2019 and 2021.
He aspired for the governorship seat in Bauchi under People Democratic Party (PDP) and under People Redemption Party (PRP) in the 2015 and 2019 elections respectively but could not make it.
Prior to his appointment to lead Gavi, Pate was working as a faculty member at the Julio Frenk Institute for Health Care Leaders at the Harvard Chan University of Health.
Babaji Usman Babaji is an investigative journalist with over four years of experience, renowned for his impactful reporting on corruption, human rights violations, and holding those in power accountable in Nigeria.
His career is distinguished by participation in numerous media training programs and conferences, which have honed his investigative and reporting skills. Babaji’s data-driven stories have made a significant impact, particularly in Northern Nigeria, shedding light on critical issues and driving meaningful change.
As a reporter under WikkiTimes’ Collaborative Media (CMEDIA) Project, Babaji has led several groundbreaking investigations. He was a 2022 fellow of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) and a 2024 Media Foundation for West Africa DPI/DPG fellow. His contributions to accountability journalism earned him a Certificate of Recognition from Xchange Hama Media for impactful community work.
