To see the Decisions, please click here.
Dear Partners and Friends,
After a period of extensive consultation, the RBM Board agreed at its 29th Meeting in December 2015 on a new governance architecture. This included the establishment of a reconstituted Partnership Board, which could take advantage of the tremendous skill, energy and effectiveness of its partners and lead the organization into a new era.
Subsequently, I am delighted to be writing to you as the newly elected Chair of the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership Board. I had the honor of being elected, together with an exceptional Vice-Chair in Kieran Daly, by the new RBM Partnership Board during their first face to face meeting held in Geneva on 1-2 of June 2016.
It is with humility that I accept the role of Chair at this critical time for the Partnership and for the fight against malaria and I thank the Board members for their confidence. With a new Board, interim supporting structure and an agreed transition strategy we are moving forward with pace, vigor and purpose and I look forward to working together with you all to accelerate efforts to end malaria for good.
Last week’s face to face Board meeting represented a critical milestone for the revitalized Partnership; an opportunity to hear about the formidable work that is continuing to be taken forward by Partners working together to fight malaria across the world, including working together to effectively communicate and advocate on World Malaria Day and the ongoing efforts of the Harmonization Working Group, and discuss how the revitalized Partnership can best support these efforts moving forward. This Board comprises an incredibly experienced and capable group of individuals from across the malaria and development community whose shared and active commitment to the facilitation of effective strategic communication, country and regional support and the mobilization of the necessary resources to achieve malaria elimination, was evident.
A range of important decisions were made at what was an incredibly productive meeting, attended by all new Board membersi. The Board Decision Points are attached to this letter; they include details of our decisions to:
- Undertake a detailed and rapid review of Partnership Bye-Laws to ensure they reflect the Partnerships new structures and governance arrangements agreed at its 29th Meeting in December 2015;
- Commence negotiations with UNOPS as the most appropriate host for the Partnership following the detailed assessment and consideration of a range of options;
- Assume responsibility for un-earmarked RBM funds held at WHO through the Chair on behalf of RBM;
- Approve the plan to establish and take forward the new Partnership structures, to be coordinated by an Interim Support Team (IST), including the next phase of the country / regional consultation and engagement process (in collaboration with regional leadership, platforms and structures), the finalization of the governance and hosting arrangements, set up and support for the new Partner Committees and recruitment of a permanent management team; and
- Recognize the ongoing work of Partners collaborating to advance priority areas of work including the importance of the ongoing work of the Harmonization Working Group core functions.
To see the Decisions, please click here.
We also reviewed the role of an emerging global high-level leadership initiative, the ‘End Malaria Council’, agreeing on its importance and potential in helping raise the profile, support and resources for the fight against malaria. We look forward to working with them going forward.
I would also like to take this opportunity, in my first communication as Board Chair, to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to my predecessor the Honorable Victor Makwenge Kaput, and to all the members of the former Roll Back Malaria Partnership Board including the Transition Oversight Committee (TOC) Co-Chairs Adm. Tim Ziemer and the Honorable Minister David Parirenyatwa and the Secretariat Staff; and the WHO for their excellent commitment and contribution to the Partnership and in getting us to this pivotal moment.
It is an incredibly exciting time for RBM and I look forward to working with Partners to build on our successes and move forward with purpose to achieve our vision of a malaria free world.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Winnie Mpanju-Shumbusho
RBM Partnership Board Chair
i List of Partnership Board Members
- Dr Pedro L. Alonso, Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme
- Mr Elhadj As Sy, Secretary General, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
- Mr Simon Bland, Director – New York Office, UNAIDS
- Prof Awa Coll-Seck, Minister of Health & Social Welfare, Senegal
- Mr Kieran Daly, Deputy Director: Global Policy & Advocacy – Malaria, HIV, TB and the Global Fund, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Mr Paulo Gomes, Chairman, Paulo Gomes and Partners, former Executive Director, World Bank
- Dr Richard Nchabi Kamwi, Elimination 8 Ambassador, former Minister of Health, Namibia
- Dr Altaf Lal, Senior Advisor on Global Health and Innovation, Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries
- Dr Winnie Mpanju-Shumbusho, former Assistant Director General - Malaria, HIV, TB, NTDs, WHO
- Mr Ray Nishimoto, President of Health & Crop Sciences Sector, Sumitomo Chemical
- Dr David Reddy, Chief Executive, Medicines for Malaria Venture
- HE Yongyuth Yuthavong, former Deputy Prime Minister and former Minister of Science and Technology
- Rear Admiral Tim Ziemer USN (ret), Global Co-ordinator, US President's Malaria Initiative
