11/10/2011Posted : October 11, 2011
New chair for vet medicines alliance

GALVmed, the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines, has announced the appointment of Dr Shadrack Moephuli as chair of the board. He takes over the role from Dr Mike Witty. 

Dr Moephuli, who joined the board in October 2010 as chair of the policy and external affairs sub-committee, is president and chief executive officer of the Agriculture Research Council (ARC) of South Africa, where he has worked to elevate the organisation to be a world-class leader in agricultural research and development of animal vaccines.

GALVmed aims to protect livestock and save human lives and livelihoods by making livestock vaccines, diagnostics, and medicines accessible and affordable to the millions in developing countries for whom livestock is a lifeline.

Of his appointment, Dr Moephuli said: "I am taking over as chair of GALVmed at an exciting time. We have a new and ambitious business plan which will see us move from proof-of-concept of the GALVmed model to delivery at scale. GALVmed and our partners form a strong team which will make a sustainable difference to poor farmers in resource poor environments by ensuring solutions are available which tackle a range of neglected livestock and poultry diseases."

He added: "As a scientist I am excited by the range of cutting-edge solutions which are being generated specifically to meet the need of poor livestock keepers in developing countries. Donor investment is yielding low-cost, appropriate technologies, which can be delivered at scale and with solutions that are smarter, more innovative, and better able to respond to the needs of the small scale poor livestock producers in developing countries, particularly in Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia."

GALVmed chief executive Steve Sloan said: "We could not ask for a better person to lead the board at this time. Dr Moephuli has a clear vision of what GALVmed needs to achieve."