Leadership Team Appointed for the United Nations Special Envoy Office and MDG Health Alliance

Suprotik Basu to serve as CEO; David Alport to serve as Senior Vice President

New York,  6 June 2013 –  Ray Chambers, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Financing the Health Millennium Development Goals and for Malaria and the Chairman of the MDG Health Alliance – today announced two senior staff appointments.

Suprotik Basu, who has served as Managing Director for Chambers’ Special Envoy Office, will become Chief Executive Officer of a newly combined organization focused on the financing and achievement of the Health MDGs.  Basu’s oversight will include both the Special Envoy Office and the MDG Health Alliance.

“With only 940 days remaining to save the lives of 4.4 million children and 230,000 mothers, we have no time to waste,” said Chambers. “Protik has a proven track record in the fight against malaria, and he has the vision we require to overcome among the most pressing global-health challenges of the day.  He has my complete confidence to lead our expanded work across all of the Health MDGs at a critical juncture.”

David Alport, who previously served as Vice President of Communications for GBCHealth, will assume the role of Senior Vice President of Communications, overseeing communications and media initiatives for the Special Envoy Office and for the MDG Health Alliance.

“David is a one of the most thoughtful and well-regarded professionals in the business,” Chambers said.  “His strategic approach to communications will ensure that we reach our intended targets with the right messages to help achieve our global health goals.  He will be a terrific addition to our team.”

The announcements follow Chambers’ own appointment in March 2013 by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as his first Special Envoy for Financing the Health MDGs, expanding his mandate as Special Envoy to end deaths from malaria.

The Millennium Development Goals, which come due on December 31, 2015, are a set of humanitarian targets agreed to in 2000 by 193 member states of the United Nations and 73 international organizations.

To succeed with respect to the health objectives, the lives of 4.4 million children and 230,000 mothers must be saved, in addition to specific targets related to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in the next 940 days.

The MDG Health Alliance was launched by Jeff Walker, John Megrue, Alan Batkin, Naveen Rao, Leith Greenslade, Charlie MacCormack, Diana Taylor, Chambers and others in 2011 to bring private-sector perspectives and assets to the achievement of the health goals.

Basu succeeds Gary Cohen, Executive Vice President of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), who has served as CEO of the MDG Health Alliance since January 2013.

“Gary has done a fantastic job leading the MDG Health Alliance during an important phase of growth,” said Chambers. “I am grateful to Gary and to BD for this commitment, and I am pleased that Gary will remain active in the MDG Health Alliance, while also devoting his talent to his role as Acting-CEO of GBCHealth.”

Both appointments are effective immediately.