AMREF CEO Appointed To CEPI Board

Dr Githinji Gitahi is the only Kenyan to be appointed to the Board and Scientific Advisory of Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the body that aims to stop future epidemics by developing new vaccines.

Dr Gitahi, a passionate advocate for pro-poor Universal Health Coverage, has been the Group CEO of Amref Health Africa since 2015. He has been at the forefront of the COVID-19 response in Africa.

Githinji is part of a team of a squad of five public health and scientific leaders joining the board.

The team comprises members from five different countries tasked with providing critical oversight of and advice to CEPI.

Chair of CEPI, Jane Halton welcomed the new five members by explaining they have been brought in to help CEPI better prepare for the next health crisis.

“These appointments will provide invaluable knowledge and new ways of thinking to further enrich CEPI’s discussions as we push our ambitious plan forward,” said Halton.

The new appointments to the CEPI Board are:

• Dr L. Rizka Andalucia, Director-General for Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices at the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, as Board voting member (investor)
• Cyrus Ardalan, Chairman of OakNorth Bank, Trustee of the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), and a senior adviser at Alvarez and Marsal, as Board voting member (independent)
• Dr Githinji Gitahi, Group Chief Executive Officer, Amref Health Africa, as Board voting member (independent)
• Professor Samba Sow, Director General of the Center for Vaccine Development – Mali (CVD-Mali) and former Minister of Health for Mali, as Board voting member (independent)
• Anita Zaidi, Director of the Vaccine Development, Surveillance, and Enteric and Diarrheal Diseases programs and President, Gender Equality Division, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (investor)

The appointments were approved during CEPI’s most recent Board Meeting, held on April 25-26 2022, in Bergen, Norway.