Former finance minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been named by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as its Special Envoy for the newly inaugurated Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator.
She is to serve alongside British business executive, Sir Andrew Witty in the same capacity, to mobilise international commitment to the initiative, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Director-General of the WHO, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, made the announcement during the launch of the ACT Accelerator via webinar from Geneva.
“I would especially like to thank Sir Andrew Witty and Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for agreeing to act as Special Envoys for the ACT Accelerator,” Ghebreyesus said in his remarks.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala said on her Twitter handle @NOIweala yesterday that felt “Honoured and humble to serve with Sir Andrew on this challenging and vital global endeavour.”
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.
This is the fourth international assignment given to Okonjo-Iweala in less than two months.