12th GAVI BOARD MEETING
Geneva, Switzerland, 9 - 10 December 2003
SUMMARY REPORT

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2. Recommendations of the Independent Review Committee

• The presentation contained a great deal of information that covered a range of issues that GAVI is attempting to address. In the future the information should be presented in a more straightforward manner in order to facilitate the appropriate decisions and actions.



• It will be important to keep an eye on equity when reviewing countries that are approved for new vaccines but may have low basic immunization coverage in certain areas. The Secretariat committed to look further into this issue in regard to Sudan, which will phase in monovalent hepatitis B and Hib vaccines.



• The discrepancies in data and information submitted from countries through the WHO/UNICEF Joint Reporting Form and the GAVI Progress report is worrying. WHO is committed to increase its efforts to provide the technical support countries need to ensure stronger and more accurate reporting. Efforts to rationalize and harmonize the two parallel reports may also be needed.



• One of the most successful new features developed by the GAVI alliance is the Independent Review Committee (IRC), as evidenced again by the thoroughness of the presentations to the Board. It will be important to maintain the integrity of this mechanism by keeping it independent and ensuring that information flow between the teams is strengthened. To ensure this, the FSP team will meet prior to the monitoring team so that its findings can feed into the monitoring deliberations.

DECISIONS

The Board:

2.1 Approved the financial implications of the recommendations concerning new proposals and continued support. Total commitment: $110 million - $4.8 million for new proposals and $105.2 million for continued support. The Secretariat will forward the request to the Vaccine Fund Executive Committee [which will have teleconference 16 December] on behalf of the GAVI Board.

2.2 Approved the proposal for enhancing the Independent Review Committee (IRC) with an additional team to review financial sustainability plans. However, it placed a caveat that there must be strong collaboration between the new IRC FSP review team and the existing IRC monitoring team.

2.3 Endorsed proposed members of the IRC financial sustainability plan team, and the currently co-opted members of the IRC new proposal and monitoring teams. In addition, Mark Kane, who will be rotating off the Working Group at end 2003 will join the IRC monitoring team.

2.4 Approved the revised terms of reference for the IRC monitoring team but cautioned against further expanding the IRC’s role, especially in areas not relating to the monitoring of country-related activities.

2.5 Approved the new vaccine funding policies (concerning phased new vaccine introduction, “switching”, the formula for forecasting supply using DTP1, and wastage rates) first presented to the Board in October 2003, and the estimated financial implications. Total commitment could range from $44 to $88 million.

2.6 Agreed to consider all of the policy recommendations of the IRC monitoring team as outlined in the presentation. The Board reiterated its commitment to protect the independence of the IRC.

2.7 Welcomed the commitment of UNICEF and WHO to enhance efforts to help countries improve quality of reporting and information received from countries. This should be done in consultation with the IRC monitoring team to ensure that satisfactory solutions are found to the problems raised by the IRC. The EC is requested to consider a proposal by early February for approval on behalf of the Board.

2.8 Agreed to put on the agenda of the next meeting a longer time for discussion of monitoring, including capacity building in this field.

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