About LVIF and the webinar
The Livestock Vaccine and Innovation Fund (LVIF) is an initiative of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Global Affairs Canada that aims to develop vaccines against deadly livestock diseases that have the greatest impact on livestock health and smallholder farmers’ livelihoods in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). LVIF works through partnerships to develop novel vaccines that are affordable, effective and acceptable to livestock smallholders and that facilitate their use at a scale.
On Thursday, the 27th of July 2023, select LVIF research projects will engage with key stakeholders across the animal health ecosystem to discuss the impact and findings from their research projects over the years. This event will have leaders in animal vaccine regulation, manufacturing, policy, and media who will discuss the critical gaps that need to be addressed to ensure timely and equitable access to vaccines in LMICs.
Meet the Speakers
Dr. Illiassou Hamidou Soumana
Moderator
Dr. Illiassou Hamidou Soumana is a Senior Program Officer on the IDRC Animal Health team, where he manages several projects funded through the Livestock Vaccine Innovation Fund (LVIF) initiative. Before joining IDRC, he completed two post-doctoral research fellowships, one at the University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine in the USA, and the other at the Department of Medicine, The University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. He was a Research Fellow of the British Columbia Lung Association, Mitacs, and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research.
Dr. Hamidou Soumana holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Parasitology from the University of Montpellier in France, and a Master of Science in Biodiversity, Microbial and Parasitic Interactions from the same university. He also holds a Master of Science in Risk Assessment of Food and Feed-related Biocontaminants from the AgroParisTech Institute in Paris, France.
Dr. Frans van Gool DVM RSHM
Speaker
Dr. Frans van Gool is a Doctor in Veterinary medicine. He specializes in the development and marketing of veterinary pharmaceuticals and vaccines for production animals (ruminants, swine and horses). He has more than 35 years of experience in developing, registration, marketing and distribution of veterinary medicines (pharmaceuticals and vaccines) in Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. For the past 20 years his focus has been in the development of sustainable distribution systems for smallholder livestock farmers specifically in Sub Saharan Africa.
Currently, Dr. Vangool is an independent Veterinary consultant at EXCELVET-Consultants. The company's main objective is to bring Animal Health Solutions to livestock farmers in remote areas, to boost health and productivity of their animals. His key partners at EXCELVET include IFAH, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Arpexas (UK), Genesis Laboratories (USA), DFID (UKAID), IDRC and USAID.
Dr. Robyn Alders
Speaker
Robyn Alders AO is an Honorary Professor with the Development Policy Centre and the Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions within the Australian National University, a Senior Consulting Fellow with the Chatham House Global Health Programme, an Honorary Professor with the Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences at the Royal Veterinary College within the University of London and an Adjunct Professor in the Veterinary Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health, Tufts University. For over 30 years, she has worked closely with smallholder farmers and producers in sub-Saharan Africa, South and SE Asia and Oceania as a veterinarian, researcher and colleague, with an emphasis on the development of sustainable infectious disease control in animals in resource-limited areas in support of food and nutrition security, income generation, wildlife conservation and public health. Robyn’s current research and development interests include food and nutrition security, One Health, gender equity and Science Communication.
Robyn has published over 190 publications including theses, scientific journal articles, conference proceedings, technical manuals, technical reports, development publications, extension material and articles in general interest magazines.
Dr. Musa Mulongo
Speaker
Dr. Musa Mulongo is a senior scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi. He also leads the Transforming Animal Health Services & Solutions for LMICs (TAHSSL) Platform at ILRI. TAHSSL is a Research & Development platform that focuses on translation and commercialization of promising candidate vaccines and diagnostics. Previously, Musa was a Senior Program Specialist with the Livestock Vaccine Innovation Fund (LVIF) at the International Development and Research Centre (IDRC) in Ottawa, Canada. In this role, he was responsible for the technical management and administration of cutting-edge vaccine discovery and development projects with multiple international partnerships. Before joining IDRC, Musa completed two post-doctoral research fellowships at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization - International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac) in Saskatchewan, Canada and Wellcome Trust Research Program in Kilifi, Kenya.
Musa holds a PhD in Immunology & Vaccine Development from the Royal Veterinary College of the University of London (UK) and a Master of Science also in Immunology from Kenyatta University in Kenya.
Resources
LVIF Factsheet
Op-Ed: Partnering for Improved Vaccine Access in LMICs
Article: Role of RVF Vaccine in Global PPR Eradication