New Director of Gates' Foundation Global Health Delivery - Dr. Rajeev Venkayya

Dr. Rajeev Venkayya

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has named Dr. Rajeev Venkayya as director of its Global Health Delivery, one of the five teams in the Global Health Program of the world's largest charity. The foundation has also named an Indian to the advisory panel of their program.

Until recently, Venkayya was a special assistant to President George W Bush and a senior director for Biodefense on the White House Homeland Security Council. Dr. Venkayya was one among the elite individuals of Indian origin to be appointed as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Biodefense. He was appointed to this coveted post by President George Bush in May 2005 and played a greater role for the development of policies to prevent, protect and tackle the bioterrorism. In his new capacity, Dr. Venkayya he will oversee the Foundation's efforts to help expand the availability of effective vaccines, drugs and other health solutions in the developing world. He will also head preparations for delivery of future health solutions, the Gates Foundation said in a statement.

In a statement after his nomination, Dr. Venkayya said,  Every year, millions in poor countries die from preventable causes because they do not receive basic health services taken for granted in rich countries. I look forward to working with the foundation's grantees and partners to address this critical challenge. 

Dr. Venkayya has a degree in medicine from Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine and is a former coordinator of the US government medical and public health efforts, including preparations for a potential influenza pandemic. An assistant professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, in the division of pulmonary and critical care medicine., he was previously co-director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit and director of the High-Risk Asthma Clinic at San Francisco General Hospital.

 A number of important health interventions currently in late-stage development could be on the market in the next several years. We want to ensure that these life-saving solutions reach those who need them most,  said Dr. Tachi Yamada, president of the Foundation's Global Health Program.  Rajeev brings a wealth of experience as both a physician and senior health policy strategist, and we're fortunate to have him heading our efforts in this area.  The Foundation has also named Sujatha Rao, additional secretary and director general of the National AIDS Control Organization under the Indian ministry of health and family welfare, as an advisor on the panel of five.

The Foundation's Global Health Delivery team coordinates late-stage development of foundation-funded health technologies and interventions through clinical trials and regulatory approval. The Delivery team also identifies ways to ensure adequate financing to purchase vaccines and drugs, strengthen health supply and distribution systems, address shortages of health workers, and increase public awareness about health.

Global Health Delivery is one of five teams in the Foundation's Global Health Program. The others are Global Health Discovery, Infectious Diseases Development, Integrated Health Solutions Development, and Global Health Policy and Advocacy.

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, the Foundation is led by CEO Patty Stonesifer and co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

With an asset trust endowment of close to $39 billion and $3 billion it doles out each year, the biggest goal the Gates foundation has set for itself is to find a vaccine to prevent AIDS. They also want to eradicate malaria, spark an agricultural revolution in Africa and ensure that every child in the US has an access to quality education. Bill Gates has decided to work full time at the foundation after stepping down from hands-on management at Microsoft later this year. His wife Melinda is also boosting the amount of time she devotes to the projects of the charity.