Key advisory groups

Advisory groups provide us with guidance on the direction of the project

The Meningitis Vaccine Project has three advisory groups with distinct areas of authority.

Project management committee (PMC)

The PMC is composed of two senior staff each from PATH and the World Health Organization. The PMC convenes once or twice per year to review project progress and to take strategic decisions related to the project.  

Specifically the PMC:

  • Reviews and approves the annual MVP progress report.
  • Reviews and approves the annual MVP work plan and budget.
  • Makes recommendations and takes decisions on strategies related to product development and vaccine introduction.

The members of the PMC are selected according to their professional position and capacity, their scientific and technical expertise, and their commitment to introduction of a meningococcal A conjugate vaccine in the African meningitis belt. Membership is on a voluntary basis.

PMC members are:

  • Dr. Flavia Bustreo, Assistant Director General, Family, Women's, and Children's Health, WHO, Switzerland
  • Dr. Keiji Fukuda, Assistant Director General, Health Security and Environment, WHO, Switzerland
  • Dr. Kathy Neuzil, Program Leader, Vaccine Access and Delivery Program, PATH, United States
  • Dr. Jacqueline Sherris, Vice President, Global Programs, PATH, United States

Project advisory group (PAG)

The PAG consists of up to ten African public health experts who meet once or twice per year to review project progress and discuss strategic issues related to project implementation. The PAG is an official WHO advisory group that reports to the WHO/AFRO Director of Disease Control. Although the PAG is an advisory body, it can become actively involved in many areas of the project, undertaking key advocacy roles to ensure the financial viability of the project, mobilize political commitment and resources at the regional and country level, and advise on multiple programmatic issues. When necessary, other experts can be invited to PAG meetings to provide advice on specific issues.

The PAG plays a crucial role in the vaccine introduction strategy and provides information and advice to ensure that the project complies with African needs, culture, and politics.

Specifically the PAG:

  • Reviews clinical trial protocols and the clinical development plan within the framework of the introduction of the meningococcal A conjugate vaccine.
  • Makes recommendations on appropriate strategies for introduction of the meningococcal A conjugate vaccine.
  • Reviews regional and country level plans of action for the introduction of the meningococcal A conjugate vaccine.

Current PAG members are:

  • Prof. Francis Nkrumah (Chair), Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Ghana (read the interview, pdf 160 kb)
  • Dr. Narcisse de Medeiros, Regional Advisor, Communication Programme, United Nations Children's Fund office, West and Central Africa, Togo (read the interview, pdf 75 kb)
  • Prof. Ogobara K. Doumbo, Director, Malaria Research and Training Centre, University of Bamako, Mali (read the interview, pdf 166 kb)
  • Dr. Christine Manyando, Medical Epidemiologist, Tropical Diseases Research Centre, Ndola, Zambia
  • Dr. Idris Mohammed, Chairman, National Programme on Immunization (NPI) Board, Nigeria
  • Prof. Rasmata Ouédraogo, Center for Training and Research in Health Sciences, University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (read the interview, pdf 70 kb)
  • Prof. Jeannine Tagliante-Saracino, Faculty of Medicine, University of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire (read the interview, pdf 62 kb)
  • Dr. Aissatou Touré-Baldé, Researcher, Institut Pasteur, Dakar, Sénégal (read the interview, pdf 231 kb)

Expert panel

This expert panel consists of African, European, and American vaccine development experts who assist MVP by providing technical advice on pharmaceutical, clinical, and regulatory strategies and issues. Panel members meet once a year and are selected according to their professional position and capacity, scientific and technical expertise, and commitment to the introduction of a meningococcal A conjugate vaccine in the African meningitis belt. The panel currently has eight members. Since 2004 the expert panel has operated a subcommittee called the MVP Clinical Advisory Group to provide specific advice on the MVP clinical development plan.

Specifically the expert panel:

  • Reviews the vaccine development plan.
  • Makes recommendations on technical issues related to vaccine development.

Current expert panel members are:

  • Dr. Ronald Ellis, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, NasVax Ltd., United States
  • Dr. Lance K. Gordon, President & CEO, ImmunoBiologics Corporation, United States
  • Dr. Emil Gotschlich, Vice-president Medical Sciences, Rockefeller University, United States
  • Prof. Brian Greenwood, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom
  • Dr. Nancy Messonnier, Medical Officer, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United States
  • Prof. Francis Nkrumah, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Ghana
  • Dr. David Salisbury, Principal Medical Officer, Health Protection Agency, United Kingdom