Helen Clark named as new Chair of the Gavi Board

The Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance today appointed Rt Hon Helen Clark as its new Chair, beginning in January 2026.

Helen Clark served as Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008. Following her departure from the New Zealand Parliament in 2009, she served two terms as Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, completing her tenure in 2017. She is currently a President of the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London and has served on a range of other public good boards and commissions.

The appointment follows an eight-month search process that considered a total of 240 candidates for the role. The Gavi Board’s Search Committee cited Clark’s deep experience at the top of national and international government, her experience chairing multistakeholder organisations similar to Gavi, as well as her track record as a leader and mentor.

“I am honoured to be selected as the next Chair of Gavi. For 25 years, Gavi has worked to protect children from preventable disease and thereby helped countries grow, prosper and become more self-sufficient. The coming years will bring many challenges for Gavi, but also huge opportunities, and I am excited to play a role in helping it meet its most ambitious goals yet. I am also honoured to succeed José Manuel, who has led Gavi for the past five years,” Helen Clark said.

When she assumes the role of Chair in January 2026, Clark will replace Professor José Manuel Barroso, who served two terms as Gavi Chair from 2021–2025. During his tenure, Professor Barroso helped steer the organisation through first the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently Gavi’s efforts to restore coverage of routine immunisation. He also oversaw a period of Gavi’s history in which malaria vaccinations were introduced for the first time, HPV vaccines were dramatically scaled up, and marked progress was made reaching zero-dose children.

“When I joined Gavi in 2021, the world was in throes of the world’s worst public health crisis in a hundred years. I have been humbled to serve as Chair over the subsequent five years as Gavi helped to deliver two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines, restore routine immunisation coverage and introduce powerful new tools such as the malaria vaccine. While I look back with pride, I can also look forward with confidence, as Helen has an excellent track record as a leader and as a champion of global health, development, and many other issues central to Gavi’s mission,” said José Manuel Barroso.

During his two terms as Board Chair, Professor Barroso oversaw the transition of leadership of the Secretariat, culminating in the appointment of Dr Sania Nishtar as Chief Executive Officer in January 2024. Professor Barroso also oversaw Gavi’s successful replenishment, securing funding for Gavi’s next strategic period, starting in 2026.

Helen Clark will be joining Gavi at the beginning its sixth five-year strategic period. Among the priorities for Gavi during this time will be an increased focus on improving immunisation services in fragile and conflict-affected regions and countries, as well as executing a reform programme, the Gavi Leap, that was initiated in 2025 with a view to placing the countries Gavi supports at the heart of its operating model.

“Helen is a respected global leader whose knowledge and experience will be of tremendous value to Gavi as we navigate our next strategic period. I am delighted to welcome her as our next Chair of the Board, and I look forward to working with her closely as we seek to meet our most ambitious goals yet, said Dr Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. “I also want to express my most sincere appreciation to José Manuel, for steering Gavi with great skill through some of the most challenging times in its history. José Manuel leaves Gavi in an excellent position to address the challenges ahead and we are grateful that he will continue to be a friend and supporter.” 

×