The World Health Organisation has named Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a special envoy for the newly inaugurated Access to COVID-19 Tools accelerator.
This is the fourth international assignment given to Okonjo-Iweala in less than two months.
On March 7, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa appointed her a member of the country’s economic advisory council.
She is to serve alongside Andrew Witty, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline, in the same capacity.
The duo is expected to mobilise international commitment to the initiative.
WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, announced the appointments during the launch of the ACT Accelerator via webinar from Geneva, Switzerland.
The initiative is an international collaboration aimed at accelerating the development, production, and equitable distribution of COVID-19 drugs, tests kits, and vaccines around the world.
