More than 100 professionals graduated from the six co-branded programmes offered under the UNITAR and Empower School of Health partnership. The graduates represented more than 90 organizations across the public sector, multilateral system, civil society, academia, regulatory bodies and private sector. They included professionals working in ministries of health, medicines regulatory authorities, international organizations, financial institutions and pharmaceutical companies.

More than 20 Least Developed Countries were represented, alongside several Small Island Developing States, Landlocked Developing Countries and countries affected by conflict or fragility.

Graduates received certificates across six programmes covering health procurement and supply chain management, digital health, data management and related areas. These included the Master of Science and Postgraduate Diploma in Global Health Procurement and Supply Chain Management, the Postgraduate Diploma in Digital Health and the Postgraduate Diploma in Data Management in Public Health Procurement and Supply Chain.

“Strong systems are built by people who refuse to accept that yesterday’s standard must remain tomorrow’s standard,” said Paul Lalvani, Founder and Executive Director of Empower School of Health.

Angelica Perez, Manager of the Health Products Management team at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, delivered the keynote address, focusing on the responsibilities that accompany professional qualifications. Ambassador David Fernandez Puyana, Permanent Observer of the University for Peace to the United Nations, also addressed the graduates.

Ebru Canan-Sokullu, Deputy Director of UNITAR’s Division for People and Social Development, conferred certificates alongside Paul Lalvani and Daniel Nazarov, Senior Programme Coordinator at UNITAR.

For UNITAR, this graduation is a concrete illustration of the Institute's mandate: to build the capacity of individuals, institutions and organisations, especially in the Global South, and to convene expertise from across the UN system, academia and the private sector to do it. Ebru Canan-Sokullu, Deputy Director of the Division for People and Social Development at UNITAR, conferred certificates alongside Paul Lalvani and Daniel Nazarov, Senior Programme Coordinator at UNITAR. 
 

The Empower School of Health partnership is one of the flagship co-branded programmes managed by UNITAR's Division for People and Social Development. Since its launch, it has become a reference point for how the Institute delivers accessible, workforce-relevant, online postgraduate education at scale, reaching senior officials in more than 45 countries in a single cohort, with a deliberate concentration on Least Developing Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and countries in special situations, while maintaining the academic and administrative standards expected of a United Nations training institute. 

The 45 countries represented in the cohort include more than 20 LDCs, several SIDS, and a significant number of countries in conflict, post-conflict or otherwise fragile situations, among them Haiti, South Sudan, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso, Myanmar and Iraq. Land Locked Developing Countries across the Sahel, the Great Lakes and Southern Africa are also strongly represented. These are precisely the contexts in which health supply chains are most fragile and in which the presence of well-trained senior officials makes the largest difference to whether medicines, vaccines and diagnostics actually reach patients. 

During the ceremony, UNITAR and Empower School of Health also announced a new Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Management with Specialization in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing.

The 24-month online programme will include remote internships and focus on the knowledge and skills required to support pharmaceutical manufacturing. It is intended particularly for professionals working in regions that depend heavily on imported medicines.

Further information about the new programme, including eligibility, dates and application procedures, will be announced by UNITAR and Empower School of Health.