11 November 2020 – speakers EN

Wendy Morton was appointed as joint Minister for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development on 13 February 2020. She is the UK minister for global health, and the Minister for the European Neighbourhood and the Americas.

Her portfolio includes work on Covid-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics, as well as ending preventable deaths, nutrition, and water, sanitation and hygiene – all critical in the fight against coronavirus. She previously sat on the International Development Committee, and has been a Member of Parliament since May 2015.

Mr. Yáñez holds a law degree from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC) and a master’s in Regulation from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

As of March 2018, he served as director general of International Economic Relations of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, where he headed the intense agenda of bilateral negotiations for new agreements and the modernisation of older instruments. In this position he also participated actively in multilateral trade forums such as APEC, Pacific Alliance, OECD, WTO, and in his role as Sherpa in the G20 representing Chile’s interests.

Previously, as of 2015, Mr. Yáñez was director of Financial Services at Deloitte Chile, overseeing the services related to business intelligence, anticorruption, compliance and regulation. He was recognised for his outstanding work in the area of Compliance in the 2018 edition of the Chambers and Partners Latin America guide, which identifies the best law firms and attorneys of the region.

He was also a member of the Public Works Concessions Panel (2014-2018), the Council System of Public Companies (2013-2014), and the International Cooperation Agency (2012-2014).

In the period from 2010 to 2014, he served as an advisor on international and regulatory matters to the President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, and, among other things, was responsible for developing proposals on foreign policy matters and supervising the implementation of public policy initiatives from different ministries.

Dr. Jarbas Barbosa da Silva Jr., a national of Brazil, obtained his medical degree from the Federal University of Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil, specialized in public health and epidemiology at the National School of Public Health, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation-FIOCRUZ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and holds a master’s degree in Medical Sciences and a PhD in Public Health from the University of Campinas-UNICAMP in São Paulo, Brazil. He held several technical and managerial positions in the National Health System of Brazil (Sistema Único de Saúde – SUS). In the early-1990s Dr. Barbosa was appointed as the Municipal Health Secretary in Olinda, and subsequently as the State Health Secretary in Pernambuco.

From 1997 to 2003, he served as the Director of the National Center for Epidemiology (CENEPI) in Brasilia, Brazil within the Ministry of Health. In 2003 Dr. Barbosa was appointed as the Secretary (Vice Minister) for Health Surveillance. In the second semester of 2006 he was appointed Deputy Minister (Secretário Executivo).

Dr. Barbosa joined PAHO for the first time in 2007 as the Area Manager, Health Surveillance and Disease Management. He served in this capacity until his return to Brazil in April 2010.

In 2011, Dr. Barbosa was appointed for the second time as the Secretary (Vice Minister) for Health Surveillance and in 2015, as the Secretary (Vice Minister) of Science, Technology and Strategic Supplies for the Ministry of Health in Brazil.

He has participated as a member of the Brazilian delegation in both PAHO and WHO Governing Bodies meetings, was President of PAHO’s Executive Committee (09/2013 to 09/2014), and Vice-Chair of WHO`s Executive Board (05/2014 to 05/2016). Dr. Barbosa was also a member of several international committees and working groups, such as the United Nations Interagency Coordination Group on Antimicrobial Resistance-United Nations (IACG UN) and the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework Advisory Group (PIP Framework AD) where he served as a member and as chair in 2016.

Prior to his appointment as the Assistant Director of the Pan American Health Organization, Dr. Barbosa served as the Director-President of the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA).

In October 2020, Aurélia Nguyen was appointed Managing Director of the COVAX Facility.

The COVAX Facility is part of COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, which is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the World Health Organization (WHO) – working in partnership with developed and developing country vaccine manufacturers, UNICEF, the World Bank, civil society organisations and others. COVAX is the only global initiative that is working with governments and manufacturers to ensure COVID-19 vaccines are available worldwide to economies of all financial means.

Until her appointment as Managing Director of the COVAX Facility, Aurélia served as Gavi’s Managing Director for Vaccines & Sustainability, leading the work of the Immunisation Financing & Sustainability, Policy and Vaccine Supply & Demand teams to design ways for Gavi’s resources to support financially sustainable vaccine programmes and markets, and ultimately increase uptake of life-saving vaccines.

Prior to joining Gavi in 2011, Aurélia held a variety of posts within GlaxoSmithKline, where she led the development of GSK’s policies on access to medicines and vaccines in the developing world.

Aurélia has also undertaken research for WHO on generic medicines policies. She is a certified accountant and holds a Master’s degree in Health Policy, Planning & Financing from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the London School of Economics.

Dr. Ruiz Matus, a Mexican, studied at the Higher School of Medicine of the National Polytechnic Institute. He studied Specialty of Epidemiology at the School of Public Health of Mexico and was Resident in Applied Epidemiology at the Ministry of Health, a program offered in conjunction with the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control in the United States. He is also a graduate of the Senior Management Program of Public Entities of the National Institute of Public Administration in Mexico.

He worked in the Secretariat of Health of Mexico for 25 years occupying various positions, including that of Deputy Director of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine in the State of Oaxaca, Head of the Department of Control of Diarrheal Diseases in the General Directorate of Epidemiology, Director of the Residency Program in Applied Epidemiology, Director of Applied Epidemiology, and Director of Epidemiological Surveillance. For the last 10 years, he served as Coordinator of Advisors to the Undersecretary of Prevention and Health Promotion in the Ministry of Health of Mexico.

Since 2007, he has served as Head of the Comprehensive Family Immunization Unit of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and therefore, as Regional Advisor on Immunization for America for the World Health Organization (WHO) at the Headquarters of the Organization in Washington, DC, USA.

Dr. Ruiz Matus has carried out his professional work mainly in the area of ​​applied epidemiology, participating directly in the study of outbreaks, health risks, attention to natural disasters, implementation of epidemiological surveillance systems and the establishment of priority prevention programs and disease control. During the last 13 years he has collaborated in the strengthening of the immunization program in the countries of the American Region and participated in multiple WHO work groups related to immunizations.

He has vast experience as a teacher at the undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as a lecturer in various national and international forums. He has published multiple articles in scientific journals.

Within the Mexican Society of Public Health he was Secretary General, Vice President and President during the period 2003 - 2004. He also held the presidency of the World Federation of Public Health Societies in the period 2004-2006.

Dr Joy St. John is dedicated and reliable, with a track record of achievements in public health systems management and development and health diplomacy. Her firm but fair style has assured her a place in networks of practise across the world.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR of CARPHA from July 2019

The Executive Director provides leadership and Direction to CARPHA in executing the functions laid out in the Inter- Governmental Agreement.

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR-GENERAL of the World Health Organisation from October 2017 to April 2019, with direct responsibility at the World Health Organization for Climate and other Determinants of Health (CED) (first Barbadian to be Assistant Director General.

Former Chief Medical Officer of Barbados (first Barbadian to hold that office) for over 12 years-Top Public Health Advisor to the Minister of Health and responsible for the oversight of the management of the Health Sector.

Chairman of the Executive Board of the World Health Organization (first Caribbean person to do so) from 2012 –2013.

Ferdinando Regalia heads the Social Protection and Health Division at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) which oversees a large portfolio of technical assistance activities and lending operations in more than two dozen countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. During his tenure as Chief of the Social Protection and Health Division at IDB, Ferdinando and his team have led the design and implementation of innovative public – private partnership and results-based financing platforms, such as the Mesoamerica Health Initiative, which seeks to reduce maternal and child health equity gaps in Mesoamerica, and the Regional Malaria Elimination Initiative for Mesoamerica and the Dominican Republic.

Prior to this position, Ferdinando served as Advisor to the IDB Vice President for Sectors and Knowledge (2008-2009), as Chief of Social Policy and Economics at UNICEF South Africa (2007-2008), and as an Economist in multiple IDB departments (2000- 2006). In these roles, he led the preparation of key lending operations and technical assistance projects in social protection, health and labor markets as well as analytical studies in these areas.

Ferdinando has published in peer-reviewed journals such as Journal of Development Effectiveness, PlosOne, Population Health Metrics and Journal of Labour Economics and is the author of working papers and book chapters on social protection and results-based financing mechanisms in health. Ferdinando, of Italian nationality, holds a PhD in Economics from Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain.