Dec 8, 2022, 10:02 AM | Article By: Press release

Banjul, December 7, 2022 – Mr. Benjamin Schreiber, the Deputy Global Lead Coordinator for COVID-19 Vaccine Delivery Partnership (CoVDP), is in The Gambia for an official two-day visit. Mr. Schreiber is part of a joint Africa CDC and CoVDP delegation that is in Banjul on a high-level mission. Mr. Schreiber is joined by Dr. Isaac Adewole from Africa CDC in his visit.

The overall objective of the visit is to mobilise partner support for COVID-19 vaccine delivery in view of augmenting Gambia’s efforts to reach national and global targets.

During his visit, Mr. Schreiber and his team are expected to meet with senior government officials, including at the Office of the President, policy makers from across different sectors and in-country partners to review and discuss the main obstacles to the roll-out of the national strategy and to consolidate efforts to increase immunisation coverage against COVID- 19 in the Gambia, with a special focus on high-risk groups.

Launched in January 2022, the CoVDP is an inter-agency initiative by Gavi, WHO and UNICEF that supports the 92 countries of the COVAX “Advanced Market Commitment” (AMC92) mechanism, providing support for political advocacy, access to funding, technical support, and demand planning, thus helping to close the immunisation equity gap. 

Mr. Schreiber supports UNICEF’s work on the ACT-A and is a Deputy responsible for Financing & Demand Planning in the COVID-19 Vaccines Delivery Partnership (CoVDP).  Prior to his currently position, he had been UNICEF’s deputy chief of global immunization programmes.

Dr. Isaac Adewole is a professor of gynaecology and obstetrics, and a former Minister of Health in Nigeria (2015 – 2019). As a leading researcher in gynaecologic oncology, he chairs the National Panel on Cervical Cancer Control Policy and appointed as a member of the international taskforce on elimination of cervical Cancer in the Commonwealth.