Dr Renu Swarup, Former Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology, will join the newly appointed ICARS Board of Directors.
Renu brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to support us in our mission of tackling antimicrobial resistance in low- and middle-income countries. In her almost 30-year career at the Department of Biotechnology, Renu played a key role in the formulation of India’s Biotechnology Vision and Strategy and is credited with the establishment of India’s largest Microbial Resource Centre.
Following her appointment to the Board, Renu said:
“It is a pleasure to join the ICARS Board. I look forward to the very important work being undertaken on developing and implementing AMR action plans in LMICs. AMR is a silent pandemic that needs global attention and ICARS’ vision and mandate aims to do that.”
In addition, Tripartite+ and the World Bank have each been invited to appoint an observer to the Board. To fulfil this role, the Tripartite+ Secretariat have nominated Haileyesus Getahun, Director of AMR Global Coordination at WHO. Haileyesus will oversee Board proceedings and is invited to reflect on discussions and processes as they evolve. The observer appointed by the World Bank will be confirmed soon.
Progress so far
Since its establishment in late November 2021, the Board have already set to work and convened their first meeting on 13 December 2021. During this meeting they undertook a series of formalities such as approving ICARS’ policies and budget for 2022. The second meeting, held later this month with both Renu and Heileyesus in attendance, will focus on ICARS four-year strategy and will be an important step towards clarifying goals and milestones for each of our five strategic pillars.
At the start of 2022, Board Chair Henrik Wegener was joined by ICARS Executive Management in a meeting with the Danish Minister for Health, Magnus Heunicke. This productive meeting provided an opportunity to report on ICARS’ progress, discuss the strategic focus for the Board of Directors, and to commit to a continued close collaboration between ICARS and the Danish government.
We look forward to bringing you more updates on the Board of Directors in the coming months, and invite you to read more about our structure of governance here.