Dear colleagues,

Greetings from the Gavi CSO steering committee.

We are pleased to announce that the new chair and vice chair of the Steering Committee, Dr. Nizam Uddin Ahmed, representing Shastho Shurokkha Foundation, and Liza Barrie, representing Public Citizen, took up their new roles beginning June 1.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Dr. Endie Waziri, our outgoing chair, and to outgoing steering committee members Esther Nasikye, Dr. Mbianke Livancliff, and Emmanuel Ojwang for their invaluable collaboration and contributions. Their efforts have significantly strengthened the linkages among civil society organizations worldwide working to enhance equitable vaccine access.

The new chair and vice chair intend to focus on implementing the steering committee’s new strategic framework. Priorities include ensuring that:

• local, regional and global CSOs influence Gavi priorities and board decisions;
• Gavi’s Civil Society and Community Engagement (CSCE) approach is implemented effectively, efficiently, and transparently, and prioritizes empowering local actors, strengthening local systems and responding to local communities;  
• the steering committee has the necessary capacity, systems, and resources to effectively engage with and represent civil society organizations at all levels for advocacy, fundraising, demand generation, technical assistance, and service delivery.

In the coming months, we plan to hold regular civil society community calls as a forum for CSO representatives to discuss and debate key developments related to building equity in immunization, and we hope to see you there. 

Best regards,
Gavi CSO steering committee