 |
GAVI Board Teleconference
8 August 2002
Summary Report (Word - 31K)
Topics:
1. Board Composition study
The Board:
- Agreed that the size of the Board should be increased by one seat, bringing membership to a total of 16 seats (11 rotating and 5 renewable), plus the Chair. The Board further decided that:
- the President of the Vaccine Fund will be invited to join the GAVI Board.
- an additional developing country seat will be added, bringing the total number to three (Mali and India currently represented). None of the developing country seats should be restricted to a certain geographical region; representatives will be chosen at the time of rotation from a pool of nominations from all Vaccine Fund eligible countries.
- the rotating seat for Foundations will be dropped after the current tenure of the UN Foundation is complete (30 June 2003); the Gates Foundation will assume responsibility for managing and maintaining communication with the foundation constituency.
- Endorsed the description of the process for selecting new Board members to fill seats, as outlined in the paper, "Procedures for selection of new rotating seats". The Secretariat will support the process for selecting the new seats described above, as well as the current seats that will come up for rotation by the end of 2002.
2. Follow-up on the Lessons Learned study
The Board:
- Endorsed the project management structure and processes to support the upcoming GAVI tender, as described in the paper, "Update on the GAVI Vaccine Provision Project", prepared by UNICEF, WHO and The Vaccine Fund in consultation with the Secretariat and the Working Group.
- Emphasized the importance of focusing all efforts on the first phase of project deliverables: "the development by October 2002 of an accurate, product specific forecast for Vaccine Fund supported products for the period 2004-2006, to be used by UNICEF Supply Division in the upcoming GAVI tender."
- Welcomed the statement by UNICEF that Paul Fife is appointed to fulfill the functions of project manager.
- Stressed the need for tight collaboration with and involvement of UNICEF Supply Division in the work of the Project Support Team.
- Agreed that the individuals and governments chosen from among the OECD and developing country representatives of the Board to serve as Project Oversight Committee should be free of conflict of interest. Therefore it was decided that Mali and Norway will comprise the Project Oversight Committee (strengthened by relevant experts as required), to be supported by the GAVI Secretariat.
- Urged the project team to heed the recommendations of the Lessons Learned study regarding consultation and sharing information with partners in the vaccine industry. The industry's experience in demand forecasting may be particularly relevant to the Project, and the timely sharing of information on demand, product preference and future needs should be shared with industry, unless there is a well-defined reason not to do so.
- Requested regular updates on the progress of the Project, including a timeframe for deliverables, in order to ensure smooth and effective operations.
3. ADIP Preparatory Activities
The Board:
- Endorsed the draft request for proposals and the proposed process for selecting the ADIP host agencies, recommended by the ad hoc Board subgroup consisting of the Gates Foundation (Klausner), the World Bank (Lovelace), a developing country (India), and an OECD country (the U.K.):
- The GAVI Secretariat, with oversight by the Board subgroup, will issue an open request for proposals (RFP) from potential host agencies, through direct solicitation based on input from the partners, and journal advertisements. The review of proposals and selection of the hosts or host will be made by the Board subgroup, who may call upon others to offer appropriate expertise.
- Requested that the RFP be revised slightly to reflect that the host agency may be eligible to apply for grant funds under the ADIPs.
- Approved the request for Vaccine Fund resources to support preparatory ADIP activities, up to USD 2.8 million. The budget will be managed by the GAVI Secretariat, until the ADIP teams are in place. The Vaccine Fund is requested to consider the GAVI Board decision.
4. GAVI Secretariat Staffing
The Board:
- Approved the proposed new staff position and staffing structure for the GAVI Secretariat, as described in the paper, 'GAVI Secretariat Staffing'. Therefore, the Secretariat will initiate recruitment procedures for a new principal officer, senior program officer, senior communication officer and program assistant.
- The financial implications of these staffing additions will be outlined in the Secretariat's budget for 2003-04, which will be presented to the GAVI Board for review at its next meeting.
5. Monitoring country progress
The Board:
- Revised its earlier recommendation to create a separate mechanism to perform the monitoring and evaluation function of the GAVI review process, and instead decided to expand the current Independent Review Committee to enable it to carry out the increased and more diverse workload.
- Endorsed the idea of separating the expanded IRC into two subgroups - one for review of new proposals and one for review of progress reports including assessing annual reports, financial sustainability plans, and mid-term reviews. This will allow the monitoring and evaluation process to benefit from the knowledge and experience of the IRC members involved in the original award, while reducing the risk of conflict of interest in making decisions about continuied support.
6. Recommendations of the Independent Review Committee (IRC)
The Board:
- Approved the recommendations of the IRC that:
- Sierra Leone be approved for yellow fever introduction, as it has satisfied the conditions set with its previous application; and
- Ukraine be approved for hepatitis b introduction, as it has satisfied the conditions set with its previous application.
- Requested the Vaccine Fund to approve the above recommendations. The estimated financial implications for these recommendations over the next two years is approximately USD 1,5 million.
7. New NGO Board Seat Selection
The Board:
- Welcomed the presentation of the applications received from NGOs to assume the GAVI Board seat vacated by the Children's Vaccine Program at PATH (CVP) as of June 2002. Applications were received from The Kenyan Red Cross Society, CORE Group, International Pediatrics Association, International Medical Corps, Save the Children UK and Olympic Aid.
- Approved the recommendation of CVP to accept the application from the Kenyan Red Cross Society, based upon the criteria for Board membership. Mr. Abbas G. Gullet, Secretary General of the Kenya Red Cross Society, will serve as the representative sitting on the Board, with administrative and technical support to be provided by the American Red Cross and the Geneva-based Secretariat of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Its tenure on the GAVI Board will be as of July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2004. The Chair will notify the Kenyan Red Cross and the other NGO applicants of this decision.
- Agreed to waive for the NGO seat the usual USD 300,000 annual Board membership fee to support the operations of the GAVI Secretariat, in recognition of the limited financial capacity of the NGO selected.
8. Executive Secretary Recruitment Committee Update
The Board:
- Endorsed the process outlined in the paper prepared by the Board Recruitment Committee (Carol Bellamy, Chair; Dr. Fatoumata Nafo-Traoré; Dr. Julian Lob-Levyt; and Mr. Kevin Reilly) concerning the process for recruiting the GAVI Executive Secretary position, which will become vacant on 1 July 2003. However, engagement of a recruitment firm depends on having adequate financial commitments; UNICEF will be able to cover some of the costs.
- Requested that the TORs for the Board Recruitment Committee be revised to further specify the selection procedure, including the fact that the current Executive Secretary is eligible to apply.
9. Other
The Board:
- Recognized that the newly appointed health minister in India should be considered to fill the GAVI Board seat. Based on the criteria for Board seat selection as outlined in the paper, "Procedures for selection of new rotating seats", India will be requested to provide the necessary information for the Chair to consider.
- Agreed to hold its next teleconference in early September.
|
|