Abu Dhabi to host vaccine summit with WHO, Gates Foundation and Novavax

The online event on March 29-30 will discuss global immunisation and logistics

Representatives of the Hope Consortium are pictured with a shipment of vaccines being loaded onto an Etihad flight. The group will host a vaccine summit in March to look at the challenges of the globaShow more

Abu Dhabi's Hope Consortium is organising a summit to focus on the distribution and administration of vaccines to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

The online event on March 29-30 will include speakers from the World Health Organisation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO, will deliver one of the main speeches, as will Stanley Erck, president and chief executive of drug maker Novavax, which is seeking to have its vaccine approved by US regulators.

Organisers said the event will have more than 1,000 attendees from governments, NGOs, pharmaceutical and global supply chain players and academic leaders.

"The delegates will tackle key logistical and technological challenges facing global supply chains and associated emerging trends – including the rise of vaccine nationalism – to ensure equitable and rapid delivery of the life-saving vaccines at this critical juncture facing the health, well-being, and prosperity of all humankind," organisers said.
The Hope Consortium, which includes UAE national airline Etihad, is an Abu Dhabi-led public-private partnership responsible for the mass distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.

"As we pass the pandemic's one-year mark, it is incumbent on the international health and logistics players to overcome this enormous challenge through an open forum that brings about scalable, sustainable and equitable vaccine distribution solutions, delivering help and hope to all those in need," said Mohammed Al Hammadi, chairman of the consortium's executive committee.