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GAVI Executive Committee Teleconference
30 March 2004
Summary Report (PDF - 23K)
1 Update on the Vaccine Provision Project (VPP)
2 June EC retreat agenda and participants
3 Funding for Sierra Leone
4 Other matters
1 Update on the Vaccine Provision Project (VPP)
• This topic includes two separate but related issues: 1) a new structure for the Vaccine Provision Project (VPP) to manage vaccine demand projections, vaccine procurement and vaccine financing on behalf of the alliance; and 2) the development of a long-term procurement strategy for GAVI/The Vaccine Fund.
• Regarding the structure of the VPP, it should be clarified that the four options included in the document distributed to the EC all share the same management structure, ie, that the three directors - director of the WHO Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals department, Director of UNICEF Supply Division and the President of The Vaccine Fund - would constitute the VPP decision making structure. The three variables among the four options are the level of institutional authority at which the scheme will operate, the location of the coordinator and the reporting lines.
• The VPP partners will revise the paper to:
- more clearly describe the four management structure options as they were explained in the teleconference;
- explain why the independent project management structure would not work;
- specify the kind of information that requires confidentiality and why there is concern that confidentiality cannot be assured through confidentiality agreements;
- describe the process for Directors to report to the GAVI EC and indicators they will use to monitor their work;
- propose a system to identify members of the Procurement Reference Team.
• Agreed that while the above systems are important for ensuring consensus-driven operations, it is essential that the VPP be a streamlined operation.
DECISIONS
The GAVI Executive Committee:
1.1 Decided that due to the late receipt of the paper, a decision on the VPP structure could not be reached during the teleconference.
1.2 Postponed decision on the structure of the VPP, and the long-term procurement strategy, until after the June EC retreat.
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2 June EC retreat agenda and participants
• The retreat will be held in Washington, DC and will start with a group dinner on Wednesday 2 June and continue for the full day on Thursday 3 June.
• The meeting is intended to facilitate GAVI Board discussions at its July meeting so that the Board can reach closure on the important strategic issues at that meeting.
• Four areas will be covered (responsible partners in brackets):
1) Long-term priorities for global immunization and the role of GAVI and The Vaccine Fund and alliance partners (The Gates Foundation);
2) Resource requirements for immunization in general, and GAVI and The Vaccine Fund within that context (The Vaccine Fund);
3) Long-term procurement strategy (UNICEF);
4) Optimal structures and processes for GAVI and The Vaccine Fund moving forward, including the possible convergence of the GAVI Secretariat and The Vaccine Fund management and improved measures to engage broad alliance partners over time (WHO).
• A short (two-page) paper will be prepared for each topic. The papers will focus on the following:
- Background and context of issues
- Major areas of controversy, to encourage open and frank discussion
- Structure for the discussion to keep it on track
- Proposed actions and outcomes, keeping in mind that no decisions will be made by the EC but recommendations for GAVI Board decision.
• The UNICEF/WHO joint Global Immunization Strategy should be sufficiently advanced by the time of the retreat so that it can be included as a context for the discussions.
• The convergence study consultants, Center for Applied Research (CFAR), have been retained to support in the pre-retreat planning process and facilitate the discussions of the retreat. The GAVI Secretariat has been asked to support logistical arrangements for the meeting.
DECISIONS
The GAVI Executive Committee:
2.1 Agreed to the proposed topics for the retreat, outlined above, and the process for preparing short papers for the retreat and disseminating them to all Board members at least two weeks prior to the meeting to provide the opportunity for their input into the retreat discussions.
2.2 Decided that the participants should be limited to EC members plus one staff. Vaccine Fund EC Chair Chip Lyons will also be invited. The small group will allow for more open and frank discussions.
2.3 Agreed that if Minister Songane is unable to attend the retreat, the Minister from Mongolia should be invited to provide the developing country context. Songane will advise the Chair as soon as possible whether he will be able to attend.
2.4 Endorsed the retainment of CFAR to support the retreat planning and facilitation of discussions.
2.5 Requested the Secretariat to compile a timeline of key decisions and issues the Board needs to consider to ensure timely development of and agreement on the long-term strategy.
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3 Funding for Sierra Leone
• Sierra Leone was approved for yellow fever vaccine support in March 2002 and introduced the vaccine in 2003. In its annual progress report submitted in December 2003, the country did not provide the quantities of yellow fever needed for 2004.
• The Secretariat has now received clarification on this issue from Sierra Leone and has found the information satisfactory. The EC is required to officially approve the financial implications.
DECISIONS
The GAVI Executive Committee:
3.1 Approved the financial implications of US$221,000 for yellow fever vaccine in 2004 and make the request to the Vaccine Fund to release the funds.
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4 Other matters
• According to previously agreed procedure, documents to the GAVI Board and EC should be distributed no less than two weeks before meetings and no less than one week before teleconferences. There has been an increasing lack of attention to this procedure recently.
• In the past the Working Group has been more involved in reviewing documents before submission to the Board. This had been helpful in improving the clarity and substance of the documents.
DECISIONS
The GAVI Executive Committee:
4.1 Decided that if a papers is submitted to the Secretariat later than agreed procedure, the Executive Secretary will confer with the Chair to decide whether the topic will be included on the agenda.
4.2 Agreed that it would be valuable for the Working Group to review papers prior to distribution to the Board, when possible.
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