Geneva – At its virtual 39th meeting, the Unitaid Executive Board reelected Marisol Touraine as Board Chair for a further two-year term. Ms Touraine will continue in the position until June 2024.
Marisol Touraine is former French Minister of Social Affairs, Health and Women’s Rights and has served as chair of the Unitaid Executive Board since June 2019.
“I am grateful to the Executive Board for this vote of confidence,” said Ms Touraine. “I remain fully committed to support and ensure Unitaid delivers successfully on its mandate of making equitable access to innovative health solutions a reality for all.”
During her tenure as chair, Ms Touraine helped to strengthen Unitaid’s governance and create greater transparency and inclusivity. The Executive Board’s strategic leadership has brought clear guidance to the Secretariat and delivered informed decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic. With sustained mobilization from the Board, Unitaid has gained visibility and recognition, triggering interest and contributions from new donors.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Unitaid has managed to adapt and evolve, demonstrating the relevance of its model and how its unique expertise and leadership is essential and complements the work of other key global health players in delivering effective solutions.
“I applaud the reelection of Marisol Touraine as chair of the Unitaid Executive Board. This is the result of her invaluable leadership and strategic guidance,” Unitaid Executive Director Dr Philippe Duneton said. “The renewal of her mandate is timely as Unitaid enters the last phase of developing its new strategic plan for the next five years. Marisol’s contribution and engagement alongside our Board members are key in the success of this endeavour.”
During this two-day session, the board also agreed on a strategic framework for Unitaid’s new strategy for 2022-26, keeping the Secretariat on track to approve its ambitious and transformative strategic plan next year.
This collaborative work the Secretariat is steering builds on Unitaid’s current strengths and reinforces its position in a fast-evolving global health landscape. It was developed based on lessons learnt from the COVID-19 global health crisis and defines where and how Unitaid can bring the greatest impact.
The new strategy is a step forward in Unitaid’s ambition to bring innovative, integrated, end-to-end solutions to those who need them most. Fully financing its implementation will be key and continued support from the Executive Board for resource mobilization efforts remain crucial.
“We had very constructive and vivid discussions around Unitaid’s future during this board. I am pleased we have been able to bring together the richness of different perspectives and provide clear directions for the next steps of the development of our new strategy,” said Marisol Touraine.
“In addition to taking on a lead role in the global COVID-19 response, in 2021 we moved forward in developing our next strategy in collaboration with the Board and aggressively ramped up efforts to mobilize resources in an increasingly competitive environment,” Dr Duneton added. “I believe we are well prepared as an organization to meet the challenges ahead.”
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