Gavi, a global vaccine alliance, has announced Pakistan's Dr Sania Nishtar as its next chief executive officer.
Dr Nishtar, a member of Pakistan's upper house of Parliament — the Senate, will assume her new role in March 2024. Dr Nishtar was elected to the Senate in 2021 on a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ticket; her tenure continues until 2027.
Gavi is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate more than half the world's children against some of the world's deadliest diseases.
The move was announced by Gavi in a statement by the chairman of Gavi's board, Professor José Manuel Barroso.
I am delighted to announce that the @Gavi Board has confirmed Senator Dr @SaniaNishtar as the next CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance! I am excited by the possibilities her appointment brings for our Alliance and our ambitions to protect future generations: https://t.co/E8P02hcxWl
— José Manuel Barroso (@JMDBarroso) January 11, 2024
In his message, he said that Dr Nishtar brings over three decades of leadership at the national and global levels. At the same time, she has built "a reputation as a tireless advocate for health equity, an innovative thinker and a proven doer when it comes to solving complex challenges."
He was "excited by the possibilities her appointment brings for our Alliance and our ambitions to protect future generations."
Commenting on her appointment, Dr Nishtar said: "Health starts with life-saving vaccines."
She said that the task ahead is enormous – from the health impacts of climate change to the need to tackle vaccine inequity, prepare for future outbreaks and boost routine immunisation, which she believed was the gateway to achieving universal health coverage.
"I am honoured by the trust the Gavi Board has placed in me and look forward to working with Gavi's talented staff and skilled alliance partners to ensure Gavi reaches hundreds of millions of children in lower-income countries with life-saving vaccines against deadly and debilitating diseases."
Many thanks to Gavi Board Chair @JMDBarroso and all the Board members for your full support. I am honoured by the trust the Gavi Board has placed in me and look forward to working with Gavi’s talented staff and skilled Alliance partners to leave no one behind with immunisation. https://t.co/eduBdPlRUr
— Senator Dr Sania Nishtar (@SaniaNishtar) January 11, 2024
One of the first major tasks for Dr Nishtar as Gavi's CEO would be to formulate a five-year strategic policy for 2026–2030 and seek its approval from the board.
This is not Dr Nishtar's first association with Gavi. She served as chair of Gavi's Evaluation Advisory Committee from 2011 to 2014 and, in 2016, served as an independent member of Gavi's Board.
She has also served as the inaugural Chair of the UN Secretary-General's Independent Accountability Panel (IAP) for women's and children's health and Co-Chair of the WHO Independent High-level Commission on Noncommunicable Diseases, among many other roles.
Dr Nishtar is a qualified medical doctor and a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and received a PhD from King's College in London.
In 2013, during the caretaker government, she served as a federal minister with responsibility for re-establishing the country's health ministry, among other roles, winning acclaim for transparency and accountability during her time in office.
From 2018 to 2022, she served as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led administration.
She founded the non-profit NGO think tank Heartfile, which campaigns for health reform in Pakistan.