At the occasion of the first Newsletter of the year, please receive my heartfelt wishes for a distinctively healthy, happy and prosperous New Year. I sincerely hope that the epidemiological risk of SARS CoV-2 will continue to diminish with increasing progress in public health management, GALVmed very much welcomes the relaxation of restrictions announced by several governments in recent days. While our long-standing partnerships and established programs allowed us to maintain project delivery in 2020 and 2021, much more energy was consumed to achieve internal alignment, partner engagement and ecosystem connections. Time has come for GALVmed to re-energize its work environment.
I am thus happy to announce that 2022 will be for us a year of re-engagement and re-activation of everyone at GALVmed with focus on 4 key priorities:
1. Reconnect: As of February 7th and in line with local government guidance our staff will be returning to the office in a phased hybrid structure. We will continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure that no undue risks are taken. Our Board of Trustees will also meet face-to-face in March for the first time in 2 years, allowing new trustees to encounter their peers, member representatives, and the GALVmed leadership team. And we are very pleased to confirm that we are once again available for in-person encounters for our partners.
2. Re-engage: During 2021, the elaboration of the GALVmed2030 Strategy Execution Plan has made great strides. Our partnership initiative with ILRI and Clinglobal, TAHSSL, alongside our Research & Development and Commercial Development teams are now eager to review their proposals, mine for new ideas and fine-tune prototypes with the animal health industry and other stakeholders. This exercise is expected to result in new GALVmed and TAHSSL funding proposals to fill remaining critical product gaps and overcome key barriers to a functioning market for animal health products.
3. Refine: Since its inception, GALVmed has accumulated a wealth of data through project work, ecosystem analysis and Monitoring & Evaluation work. We started the year with a deep-dive into our data and will continue to analyse, summarize and share critical information. The aim of this work is to reach a common understanding and refine our future interventions to ensure that we achieve our goal of transformational improvement in the wellbeing and economic progression of small-scale livestock producers through functioning animal health product value chains.
4. Re-ignite: Several of GALVmed’s current programs will be concluded within the next two years. It is thus time to double down with our partners and deliver or exceed agreed project plans. A critical and difficult phase also commences for our Enabling Environment team who needs to prepare for the launch of five new combination vaccines in 2023 and 2024. Launch preparations will require intense interactions with multiple stakeholder communities to ensure that the new tools meet a conducive business environment by the time they reach the markets.
Thank you to our team, our partners, and supporters for making all this possible. We are looking forward to seeing you and re-initiating our inspiring discussions Stay tuned and join us for a new year of innovation towards improved animal health and productivity among small-scale farming communities in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Chief Executive Officer, GALVmed