Two new individuals have been appointed to senior roles within the governance of the 100 Days Mission for pandemic preparedness.
Dr Mona Nemer, Chief Science Advisor of Canada, has been appointed Chair of the 100 Days Mission Steering Group, the governing body which oversees the work of the International Pandemic Preparedness Secretariat.
Dr Nemer takes over from Sir Patrick Vallance, former UK Chief Scientific Advisor, who has led the pandemic preparedness initiative since its inception in 2021, when it was endorsed by G7 and G20 leaders. He was one of a group of G7 Chief Scientific Advisors who put together the initial 100 Days Mission recommendations, and a driving force behind its original conception.
Dr Nemer has been Canada’s Chief Science Advisor since 2017 and was also part of the group of G7 Scientific advisors in 2021 who helped shape the original 100 Days Mission recommendations. An internationally renowned scientist and distinguished academic leader, she has made seminal contributions to several fields ranging from gene regulation to molecular cardiology, as well as playing a crucial role in Canada’s domestic and international response to COVID-19. Her full biography can be accessed here.
Additionally, Shingai Machingaidze has been appointed co-chair of the 100 Days Mission Science and Technology Expert Group (STEG), formally taking over the role in November 2023 from Dr Soumya Swaminathan. Dr Swaminathan was instrumental in the establishment of the STEG in early 2023, seeing the group through its first meetings and supporting the strategic direction of IPPS.
Ms Machingaidze is an epidemiologist and public health specialist. She has developed and led public health and clinical research programs that build the capacity of Africa-based scientists and institutions in Africa. Her expertise includes strategic engagement, planning and support of large public health programmes; conducting and managing clinical trials and clinical research; managing research grants and finances; as well as managing strategic partnerships and engagements with national, regional and international agencies. She has published in leading scientific journals and is a member of several institutional, regional and global advisory boards Her full biography can be accessed here.
About the 100 Days Mission
The 100 Days Mission (100DM) aims to prepare as much as possible during inter-pandemic periods, so that within the first 100 days of a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) being declared by the World Health Organization (WHO), safe, effective, and affordable diagnostic tests, therapeutics, and vaccines (DTVs) are ready to be produced at scale.
In 2021, G7 and G20 leaders welcomed the 100DM, agreeing that the first 100 days of a pandemic are crucial to changing its course and bringing it under control, which is only possible with the right tools.
Whilst the 100 Days Mission has its origins in the G7, it is a global initiative that works with a range of stakeholders across different regions, who subscribe to its core objective of achieving rapid and equitable access to pandemic countermeasures for global benefit.