Dr. Ravi Verma appointed to national task force to combat coronavirus in India
30 April 2020
Media Contact
Dr. Ravi Verma, Director of ICRW Asia, has been appointed to a national task force convened by the Indian Council of Medical Research to identify research priorities, initiate research studies related to COVID-19.
Dr. Verma will work within the Operations Research Group of the task force, which also contains four other committees: Clinical Research Group, Research on Diagnostics and Bio-Markers, Epidemiology and Surveillance, and Vaccines/Drug Research and Development.
The aim of the task force is to aid the Government of India in understanding and addressing bottlenecks in the healthcare response to the COVID-19 crisis. It will work to identify research priorities, develop research protocols, and identify partners for initiating studies to comprehend the socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 fallout on families and communities.
“As a key member of the task force, Dr. Verma brings a unique skill set that will help position a gender lens as an integral component of the COVID-19 response strategy,” said ICRW President Sarah Degnan Kambou. “With over three decades of experience working on issues of girls’ and women’s empowerment and gender equality, he will have an opportunity in this role to help ensure that interventions improve the situation for all adversely impacted – particularly marginalized women and girls.”
As Director of ICRW Asia, located in New Delhi, India, Dr. Verma leads ICRW’s local and regional efforts to conduct research, provide technical support, build capacity and partake in policy dialogue on an array of issues. He has more than three decades of experience in programmatic research and evaluation in the area of family planning and reproductive health, gender mainstreaming and HIV/AIDS in India and countries throughout Asia.
Read more about the task force below: