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Governance

Executive Board

The Executive Board, Unitaid’s decision-making body, determines the organization’s objectives, monitors progress and approves budgets. The Board is chaired by Marisol Touraine, former French Minister of Social Affairs, Health and Women’s Rights, 2012-2017. Making decisions by consensus, the Executive Board consists of 13 members:
  • One representative nominated from each of the five founding countries (Brazil, Chile, France, Norway and the United Kingdom), Spain and the Republic of Korea;
  • One representative of African countries designated by the African Union;
  • Two representatives of relevant civil society networks (nongovernmental organizations and communities living with HIV/AIDS, malaria or tuberculosis);
  • One representative of foundations;
  • One representative of temporary shared non-voting seat (Japan);
  • One representative of the World Health Organization (non-voting).

Read the Executive Board’s Resolutions and Minutes 

Read the Executive Board’s e-Resolutions

Find out more about Unitaid’s Executive Committees

Find out more about Unitaid’s Proposal Review Committee

DOCUMENTS & DOWNLOADS

  • Unitaid constitution
  • Board Operating Procedures
  • Code of ethical conduct for Unitaid board constituencies and governance officials
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    Marisol Touraine

    Chair

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    Maria Luisa Escorel De Moraes

    Brazil / Vice-Chair

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    Francisco CARVAJAL

    Chile

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    Kenly Sikwese

    Communities living with the diseases

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    Greg Widmyer

    Foundations

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    Stéphanie Seydoux

    France

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    Keiichi HARA

    Japan

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    Rohit MALPANI

    NGOs

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    Haitham EL-NOUSH

    Norway

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    Yeong-moo CHO

    Republic of Korea

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    Omar ZNIBER

    African countries / Board member

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    Salomon EHETH

    African countries / Alternate

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    Javier Salido

    Spain

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    James Droop

    United Kingdom

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    Minghui Ren

    World Health Organization

    Marisol Touraine

    Chair of the Executive Board

    After studying at the Ecole normale supérieure for a degree in economics and social sciences, Marisol Touraine studied at the Institut d’études politiques of Paris and at the prestigious Harvard University in the United States.

    Advisor to the Prime Minister from 1988 to 1991 on geostrategic issues, she became a member of the Conseil d’Etat in 1991. She then served at political positions at local level and within the French Parliament for several years before being appointed Minister of Social Affairs, Health and Women’s Rights (2012-2017). Of particular note in this role was her support to authorize and to assure financial coverage for innovative preventive HIV treatments, as well as her fight for the neutral cigarette pack, acknowledged by the WHO prize in 2016.

    She is Chair of the Unitaid Executive Board since June 2019.

    Maria Luisa Escorel De Moraes

    Vice-chair of the Executive Board

    Ambassador Maria Luisa Escorel is currently the Deputy Permanent Representative of Brazil to the UN and other international organizations in Geneva.

    She is a career diplomat with a sound experience in the multilateral field. In Brasilia, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she was the Director of the Department of International Organizations, responsible for UN issues in general, from February 2015 until April 2018.

    She previously worked at the Brazilian Permanent Mission to the UN in New York, from December 2001 until January 2004, where she was in charge of UN operational activities, sustainable development, poverty eradication, health and environmental issues.

    From August 2009 until January 2015, she served at the Brazilian Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva, as Minister Counsellor. During that period, she was in charge of WHO and global health issues, and took part of Unitaid Executive Board meetings and Unitaid related activities in several occasions. She had the opportunity to chair and facilitate different health related processes, among which, the negotiations of the outcome document of the WHO Conference on Social Determinants of Health, that took place in Rio de Janeiro, in 2011, as well as the negotiations that led to the adoption of the Global Coordination Mechanism on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (GCM/NCD).

    Francisco CARVAJAL

    Representing Chile

    Kenly Sikwese

    Representing communities living with the diseases

    Kenly Sikwese coordinates the AFROCAB network in Lusaka. He has been a member of several global HIV treatment access processes including WHO treatment guidelines. He co-chairs UNAIDS 90-90-90 Scientific Technical Advisory Committee. Kenly is also regular speaker on widening Africa’s access to the best available HIV treatments.

    Greg Widmyer

    Foundations

    Director, Health Products, Programs, and Markets

    Global Delivery Programs, Global Development

    Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

    Greg is the Director of the new Health Products, Programs and Markets team within Global Delivery Programs (GDP).  In this role, Greg will lead teams responsible for accelerating introduction of products and system innovations that reduce maternal and childhood mortality while strengthening systems to provide strong primary care.  Prior to this role, Greg was Interim Director of Integrated Delivery where he led the team’s main efforts around Primary Health Care strengthening and on accelerating the launch, integration and scale up of products and interventions within those systems.  For the previous six years, Greg was Deputy Director of the Vaccine Delivery leading the Global Implementation team which was responsible for steering many of the day-to-day efforts with Gavi in addition to focusing on vaccine introduction, market dynamics, supply chain and financing.

    Prior to joining the foundation in 2010, Greg was vice president and general manager of Monogram Biosciences where he led the commercial and operational aspects of the company. He has held a variety of commercial positions within the biotech and e-learning industries including serving as head of marketing, finance, and business development at different companies.  Internationally, Greg worked for Population Services International (PSI) as Country Director for programs in Cameroon, Rwanda and Myanmar leading social marketing work in the areas of HIV, maternal and child health and nutrition.  Greg was also a Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo. He received his BA in Russian Studies from Yale University and his MBA from Stanford University.

    Stéphanie Seydoux

    Stéphanie Seydoux has been appointed French Ambassador for Global health in May 2018. She has served as the head of the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Division, assistant to the Director General of Women’s Affairs and social cohesion from 2014 to 2017. Since November 2017, she was in charge of a support mission to the government for the revision of the bioethics law.

    After starting her career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Stéphanie Seydoux joined the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (IGAS) in 2004. From 2007 to 2010, she was head of the department for the promotion of equality at the High commission against discrimination and for equality (HALDE). From 2010 to 2013, she joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as first counsellor, deputy head of post at the French Embassy in Kenya.

    Stéphanie SEYDOUX holds a master’s degree in literature from the University of Oxford, a graduate of the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po) and is a former student of the National School of Administration (ENA) – promotion “Léopold Sédar Senghor”

    Keiichi HARA

    Representing Japan

    Mr Keiichi HARA is Deputy Director-General for Global Issues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. As a career diplomat, Mr Hara has occupied several key positions at the headquarters, including Executive Assistant to the State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Director of Financial Affairs, Director of the Assistance for Afghanistan, Director of the Country Assistance Planning Division. He has also served at Embassies in Senegal, France, Afghanistan and China.

    Rohit MALPANI

    Representing nongovernmental organizations

    Rohit Malpani is a public health consultant and advocate, based in Paris, France, and represents non-governmental organisations on the Board of Unitaid through Health Action International.  Previously, he was Director of Policy and Analysis at the Medecins Sans Frontieres Access Campaign, a Special Advisor to Oxfam, and a human rights advisor to the World Health Organisation.  Rohit is a lawyer by training, having received a Doctorate of Jurisprudence at the New York University School of Law, and worked as a lawyer at the law firm of Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich and Rosati in Palo Alto.  Rohit is from Canada and grew up in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

     

    Haitham EL-NOUSH

    Representing Norway

    Haitham El-Noush, Senior Advisor, Innovation in Health and Development, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation

    Mr. Haitham El-noush has been, during the past nine years, managing the innovation portfolio within global health for the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad); promoting and scaling-up innovative tools and approaches for health and development; through pursing tasks related to policy, partnerships, and operations. He was also the project manager for the UN Every Woman Every Child (EWEC) Innovation Working Group (IWG); through which he led the creation of thriving partnerships that inspired to consensus building, out-of-the-box thinking, and mobilization of financial and non-financial resources.

    El-noush has a long international cooperation career with work experience from nine countries representing three continents; working for both governments, INGOs and the UN. Throughout his career, he has been providing thought-leadership, building and pursuing new initiatives as well as novel work streams and approaches constructed around innovation and digital tools. He has an extensive leadership experience from managing large and complex operations and portfolios.

    El-noush has a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture science with agriculture economics as major from University of Khartoum in Sudan, a Master of Science degree in development economics and international development with microfinance as thesis topic from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and a Diploma in pedagogy from Nord (Northern Norway) University. Moreover, he earned a Diploma in impact investing from Saïd Business School at Oxford University; and has recently obtained a course certificate on global health from University of Copenhagen.

    Yeong-moo CHO

    Representing the Republic of Korea

    Yeong-moo Cho is the Director-General for Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea. Mr. Cho joined the ministry in 1995 and has served at missions in Austria, Ethiopia, Iraq, Qatar, Thailand and the United Nations.

     

    Omar ZNIBER

    Representing African countries

     

    Salomon EHETH

    Alternate Board Member for African Countries

     

    Javier Salido

    Representing Spain

     

    James Droop

    Representing the United Kingdom

    James Droop has led the UK government’s work on market shaping and access for health products for several years and represented the UK on multiple multilateral Boards. He is responsible for a wide range of UK programmes including funding to Unitaid, UNFPA Supplies and the Clinton Health Access Initiative. He has also been involved in the design, implementation and oversight of several successful innovative financing and market shaping interventions and partnerships in global health including the Advance Market Commitment (AMC) for vaccines; the International Financing Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm); the Implant Access Partnership and several other volume guarantees and, more recently, MedAccess; the new Shaping Equity for Market Access (SEMA) for Reproductive Health partnership; ATscale (the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology) and the UNFPA Bridge Funding Mechanism. He has also worked at Her Majesty’s Treasury, the World Bank and as a development consultant.

    Ren Minghui

    Representing the World Health Organization

    Dr Ren Minghui was appointed WHO Assistant Director-General for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases on 4 January 2016. Prior to that, he was Director-General for International Cooperation in the National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People’s Republic of China.
    Dr Ren received an honorary award by the Russian Federation for his contribution to health cooperation in 2006, and was awarded the “Ordre National du Mérite” by France for his efforts to advance collaboration on the prevention and control of emerging diseases in 2015.

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