Your Excellency Jaleela Jawad,
Dr Alejandro Cravioto,
Members of the SAGE,
Chairs of the Regional Immunization Technical Advisory Groups,
Dear colleagues and friends,
Good afternoon, it’s a pleasure to be here.
I thank you all for sharing your time and expertise to help shape WHO’s guidance on COVID-19 and many other lifesaving vaccines over the last 30 months, in what has been an exceptionally challenging period.
Please accept on behalf of all of WHO our gratitude for your contribution.
Your agenda this week highlights the vital role of vaccination in primary health care and outbreak control, as well as the challenges and demands on immunization programmes during a regional or global health emergency.
I look forward to hearing the key outcomes of your deliberations.
I also thank the five members of SAGE who are rotating out of the committee at the end of this year.
Your Excellency, Minister Dr Jaleela Jawad, you have served in many advisory roles, and in SAGE you have led work on measles, tetanus and enhancing immunization data.
Professor Rakesh Aggarwal, you have made important contributions to SAGE’s work on HPV vaccines and dosing schedules, as well as on hepatitis A, influenza, and numerous other topics.
Dr Ilesh Jani, you have led SAGE's work on typhoid and especially on polio vaccine, making numerous strategic policy recommendations to achieve our shared goal of eradication.
Professor Noni MacDonald, you have served in many advisory roles with WHO over the last two decades, including as a founding member of the Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety, and have contributed greatly to SAGE’s work on the global vaccine action plan, quality of immunization data, and on vaccine hesitancy.
And a special appreciation to Professor Alejandro Cravioto.
You have served on SAGE for almost eight years, including as SAGE Chair for the past six.
You have dedicated your time to countless areas of vaccine policy work globally, regionally and nationally.
Above all, you have provided strong leadership to SAGE through a very challenging period. I have particularly appreciated the opportunity to hear directly from you at the end of each SAGE meeting.
To all of you, you have my deep appreciation for sharing your time and expertise with us. I hope we can continue to count on you to work with WHO in the future, to support countries, regions and the world.
I invite you all to come forward now so I may thank you personally.
[DG hands letter of appreciation to each, shakes hand, and photo taken]
Finally, I have the great pleasure of welcoming the five incoming SAGE members as well as the incoming Chair of SAGE, Professor Hanna Nohynek and the incoming Vice Chair, Professor Shabir Madhi.
Three of you are here with us in person: Dr Rebecca Grais; Professor Cristiana Toscano; and Professor Ziad Memish; and two are joining remotely: Professor Gabriel Leung and Professor Saad Omer.
Welcome to WHO and to SAGE, and thank you for offering your time and expertise in developing WHO guidance in vaccine and immunization policy.
This work saves lives.
I also thank the Working Group members, and the SAGE Secretariat under Dr Joachim Hombach, for the months of detailed technical work which is the foundation for SAGE deliberations and recommendations.
Once again, my deep thanks to all of you for everything you do to ensure people around the world benefit from the life-saving power of vaccines.
I thank you.