PNYX Ltd. - PLA Webinar Special Session

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Invitation

Agenda

Speakers

Concept Note

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Keynote Speakers

H.E. Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki
CEO
African Union Development Agency - NEPAD

H.E. Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki of the Republic of Niger is the Chief Executive Officer of the African Union Development Agency - NEPAD. He was appointed to the position in January 2009. A former Prime Minister of Niger, from 1997 to 2000, Dr. Mayaki has a Master' degree from the National School of Public Administration (Enap), Quebec, Canada and a PhD in Administrative Sciences from the University of Paris I, France. He worked as a Professor of Public Administration in Niger and Venezuela. From 1996 to 1997 he was appointed Minister in charge of African Integration and Cooperation and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Niger. In August 2000, he set up the Analysis Centre for Public Policy in Senegal. From 2000 to 2004, Dr. Mayaki was a guest Professor at the University of Paris XI, where he lectured on international relations. He also led research at the Research Centre on Europe and the Contemporary World within that university. In 2004, he served as Executive Director of the Platform in support of Rural Development in West and Central Africa, the Rural Hub, based in Dakar, Senegal.

Jennifer Chiriga
Chief of Staff
African Union Development Agency - NEPAD

Ms. Jennifer Chiriga is the Chief of Staff of the African Union Development Agency – NEPAD. Prior to this position, she served as the Senior Advisor to the CEO of the African Union Development Agency – NEPAD, where she advised on strategic engagements and partnerships. Before Joining AUDA-NEPAD Ms. Jennifer Chiriga spent 8 years at the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa where she worked as a Program Expert in the Resource Mobilisation Division and was subsequently appointed Chief of Staff in the Bureau of then Chairperson of the AUC, Dr. H.E Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma. Ms. Chiriga has over 30 years of accumulated work experience in both government and the international development arena, including civil society capacity building, programme administration and management, as well as in policy design and application.

Andrew Owain Jones
Principal Advisor & Vaccine Centre Chief,UNICEF Supply Division
UNICEF - UN Children's Fund

Andrew Jones is currently the Principal Advisor and Chief of Vaccine Center at UNICEF Supply Division, leading a team of over 50 people that procure vaccines for low and middle income countries including via COVAX. Previously he led the Health Supply Chain team at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, overseeing a series of grants of $120 million. Before that he was a Senior Program Officer with the Vaccine Delivery team at the Gates Foundation. He managed the vaccine delivery team’s work in market dynamics and new vaccine introduction. Previously, Andrew was working on product launch and market access issues in the tuberculosis PST in the Global Health team. Previous experience includes working on malaria financing for CHAI based in Nairobi, Kenya, independent consulting in vaccines and immunization, and working on market dynamics and vaccine introduction issues in the policy team at Gavi. Previous experience includes working for the Canadian Government and for one of the whips in the UK House of Commons. Andrew’s background is in science research where he obtained a B.Sc. and did graduate work on human genetics at McGill University. Following that, he completed a joint master’s degree with the London School of Economics and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in health policy planning and financing.

Panel Chair

Dr. Janet Byaruhanga (Panel Chair)
Senior Program Officer - Public Health
African Union Development Agency - NEPAD

Dr. Janet Byaruhanga is a qualified medical doctor and public health expert that obtained her postgraduate diploma in public health research from the University of Edinburgh and has over 13 years of experience in international development with special focus in human and social sectors. Served as health policy officer at the African Union Commission since 2007 where she provided technical leadership and oversight in development and delivery of key strategic continental policy frameworks, programmes and initiatives geared towards strengthening the continent’s healthcare delivery system, food security and nutrition, and promoting the social well-being and rights of women and children. Dr. Byaruhanga since 1st September 2017 joined the African Union Development Agency- NEPAD as a Senior Programme Officer-Health. She is in charge of coordinating and facilitating development and implementation of policies on health and medical products and ensuring their alignment with industrial development; trade; science, technology and innovation polices in advancement of the African Union’s African Health Strategy and the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa (PMPA).

Speakers

Dr. Dianna Edgil
Chief of Supply Chain - Health Division,Office of HIV/AIDS
USAID - Bureau for Global Health

Dr. Dianna Edgil has nearly two decades of experience in global health, focusing on emerging infectious diseases. She currently works as the Division Chief of the Supply Chain for Health Division within USAID’s Office of HIV/AIDS where she focuses on the development of client-centered supply chains to achieve HIV epidemic control, advance country-level sustainability and maximize the availability, quality, and affordability of HIV and other global health commodities, including those for COVID-19. Previously, Dr. Edgil worked as a AAAS Fellow within the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator at the US Department of State. Prior to HIV, she worked at the International Vaccine Institute in Seoul, South Korea, under the Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative, a product development partnership focused on the development of a dengue vaccine. She holds a Ph.D. in Infectious Diseases and Immunology from UC, Berkeley.

Dr. Emile Bienvenu
Director General
Rwanda FDA (Food & Drugs Authority)

Dr. Emile BIENVENU holds a bachelor of Pharmacy, a Master’s degree in Pharmacology from University of the Western Cape in South Africa, and a PhD in Medical Science from University of Gothenburg in Sweden in the area of Clinical Pharmacology (2013). He completed a research attachment at McGill University in Canada (2008), where he contributed to the project "The alternative modeling of Intellectual Property Systems in biotechnology innovation". Before his appointment as Director General of Rwanda FDA, he served as Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research at University of Rwanda (UR) (2020 – 2021), University Director for Innovation (2017 – 2021), and a Senior Lecturer of Pharmacology at UR, College of Medicine and Health Sciences. From 2011 to 2013, he was the Head of Medical Procurement and Distribution Division (currently Rwanda Medical Supply Ltd). Since 2009 to 2020, Dr. Emile BIENVENU served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rwanda Standards Bureau (RSB) for which he is a Member since 2002. He also served as Member of the Board of Directors of Rwanda Military Hospital (2012 – 2018). He is the Country Principal Investigator of two (2) international research projects in areas of innovation and Pharmacovigilance. Currently, Dr. Emile BIENVENU supervises a number of PhDs, and authored a number of papers in peer-reviewed international Journals over the past 7 years.

Dr. Olukayode Fasominu
Senior Manager
UNICEF - UN Children's Fund

Dr Kayode Fasominu is a Management Consultant and Public Health specialist with over a decade experience in leading transformational health systems initiatives in West and Eastern Africa. He currently supports the delivery of strategic immunisation supply chain investments across 60+ Gavi-eligible countries through the Immunisation Supply Chain Steering Committee (iSC2). Areas of expertise include immunisation supply chain, global health security, capacity building, program evaluation, operational research, and implementation of innovative programs, using human centered design approaches, to save lives and optimise health outcomes across disadvantaged populations. As Principal at Volte Health – a management consulting firm - he has led consulting engagements across Africa and Europe working with donor agencies, multilateral UN agencies and governments across different levels. Kayode received his medical degree from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria and holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from Cardiff University, United Kingdom. He has also earned a certificate in modelling of infectious diseases from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, USA and a certificate in Leadership and Management in Health from the University of Washington, Seattle, USA. In his spare time, he loves to travel, explore new places, listen to music, and watch football.

Sanjeev Gadhia
CEO
Astral Aviation

Sanjeev S Gadhia is the Founder and CEO of Astral Aviation Ltd which is a cargo-airline with a fleet of 14 Aircrafts and a Network of 50 Destinations. Astral offers a reliable air-freight and logistics solution for Pharma including the Covid vaccine for UNICEF, COVAX, AVAT and Hope Consortium as it has 20 years of experience with the distribution of Pharma and Vaccines within Africa, Middle East and Europe.