President John Dramani Mahama has appointed Dr. Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey as the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the National Vaccine Institute (NVI) pending confirmation by the Board and the Public Services Commission.

Inaugurated in May 2023, the National Vaccine Institute is mandated to establish institutional arrangements for the research, development and manufacture of vaccines in Ghana.

As CEO, Dr. Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey is tasked with mobilising resources and facilitating sustainable financing to achieve the Institute's objectives.

In addition, he is expected to develop local and international partnerships and collaborate with relevant regulatory bodies to ensure adherence to standards for the manufacturing of vaccines.

Facilitating technology transfer arrangements with vaccine developers and the pharmaceutical industry is another function of the CEO.

Dr. Sodzi-Tettey is a public health physician whose twenty one year career spans district medical practice, national leadership of a quality improvement project in over 200 Ghanaian public hospitals that helped to reduce preventable deaths among children less than five years, and over the last 16 years, global health projects in multiple countries.

With this appointment, he steps away from his current role as Vice President, Global Delivery, for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), Boston, USA.

As vice president, he provided strategic, technical and operational leadership for IHI's work in Africa and the Middle East regions.

"This is a truly exciting opportunity to contribute to building the resilience of our health system through local vaccine manufacturing. I am humbled and truly grateful to President Mahama and the health minister, Hon. Akandoh. I look forward to forging the necessary local, regional and global partnerships needed to make this national assignment succeed," Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey said.

More about Dr. Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey

Dr. Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey went to Achimota School and qualified as a doctor from the University of Ghana Medical School.

He graduated with a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Ghana School of Public Health as the best graduating student, winning both Prof. & Mrs. Ofosu-Amaah prizes.

He is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School where he completed the Program for Leadership Development, Harvard's equivalent of the Executive Master of Business Administration.

Dr. Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey is also a Rockefeller Global Fellow for Social Innovation, a Fellow & Board Director of the International Society for Quality in Healthcare (Ireland) and a former Vice President of the Ghana Medical Association.

AE