Thailand assumes first presidency of IVI Global Council

The Public Health Ministry’s permanent secretary has been named the first president of the International Vaccine Insititute (IVI) Global Council in recognition of Thailand’s outstanding performance in handling pandemics.

Opas Karnkawinpong, permanent secretary for Public Health, said on Monday that in a teleconference meeting on June 24, IVI decided to have Thailand hold the first presidency of the IVI Global Council. The tenure is for two years.

He said the IVI reasoned that Thailand had been outstanding over the past decade in developing and managing the distribution of vaccines for building immunity against regular diseases as well as fighting serious viral infections like Covid-19.

Opas said Thailand was also honoured with the leadership role for great initiatives such as the setting up of the ASEAN Vaccine Security and Self-Reliance (AVSSR).

The IVI Global Council is a relatively new organisation, having been officially launched in 2023. It functions as an advisory body for IVI member states.

Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, India, Kenya, Liberia, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Rwanda, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and the World Health Organisation are parties to the IVI Establishment Agreement.

The council advises the IVI on vaccine research and development, implementation strategies, and access equity, as well as promotes global collaboration for sustainable vaccine development.

Opas said on June 24, IVI also approved the rule of procedures for the council and agreed to hold a face-to-face meeting of over 20 member states in Bangkok on September 23 and 24.

He said he was delighted that Thailand’s efforts in public health were recognised by the international community, especially for its leading role in the development, trial and sustainable access of vaccines.

During his presidency, Opas said he would help IVI boost its capacity in vaccine development and distribution to save lives via innovation and cooperation among member states.

Opas was born on December 4, 1964, and did a bachelor’s in medicine, specialising in preventive medicine and epidemiology at Mahidol University. He then underwent training in public health emergency response management from the US Centres for Disease Control. Opas also played a key role in containing the Covid-19 pandemic in Thailand.