By Sarah Gillam
Dr Giorgi Pkhakadze, HelpAge International’s humanitarian health programme manager for Eurasia and the Middle East, has been selected to serve on the UN Secretary-General’s Independent Accountability Panel (IAP).
The IAP is part of the global strategy for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health, launched in September last year to help further the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda.
The strategy builds on 15 years of progress under the Millennium Development Goals and is the most influential global movement today on women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health.
Since the new framework of the SDGs now demands results and real action, accountability is at the heart of any new SDG-linked initiative. The IAP is mandated to command attention from the global community and to monitor, review and act in the interests of women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health, globally.
Dr Pkhakadze joins other distinguished panellists from diverse regions and backgrounds, ranging from human rights experts to humanitarian leaders to statisticians.
Completing the panel is the chair Sania Nishtar from Pakistan, Carmen Barroso from Brazil, Pali Lehohla from South Africa, Elizabeth Mason from the UK, Vinod K. Paul from India, Dakshitha Wickremarathne from Sri Lanka and Alicia Ely Yamin from the USA. A ninth panel member is yet to be announced.
The IAP’s secretariat will be independent, housed at the Partnership for Maternal, New Born and Child Health in Geneva, and panellists will undertake their roles on a pro bono basis.