June 4, 2014

expert encounter: Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of the GAVI Alliance

Dr Seth Berkley, epidemiologist and CEO of the GAVI Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation) made a brief visit to the UK to share his insights into how vaccines are changing the worldwide public health landscape, including the Alliance’s vision for a world free from vaccine-preventable disease and how innovative vaccine technologies are bringing the world closer to controlling health threats.

Earlier in May 2014 Seth made a monumental £4.4 billion request to private donors and the world’s governments – including the UK – to help developing countries vaccinate 300 million children against diseases between 2016 and 2020.

Just days earlier, the World Health Organization declared that polio transmission had become an international public health emergency.

Born in New York, Seth has dedicated his life to global health improvement. He founded the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative in 1996 and was appointed GAVI CEO in 2011. TIME magazine named him one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World” for his work to improve the health of people living in the world’s poorest countries.

One of the most important figures in vaccine technology and delivery came to the SMC to talk to journalists.