AEGiS-WSJ: Finalists Are Named for Global Health Fund Post

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Finalists Are Named for Global Health Fund Post

Wall Street Journal - October 9, 2006
Betsy McKay, betsy.mckay@wsj.com

A U.S. congressman and a senior executive with Viacom Inc.'s MTV Networks are among the leading candidates to become the next chief of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, according to people familiar with the search.

A list of five finalists to succeed the Geneva-based foundation's current executive director, Richard Feachem, is expected to be delivered to the Global Fund's 24-member board today. Among the names those people say are on the list are Jim Kolbe, a Republican congressman from Arizona who has championed U.S. funding to fight AIDS globally, and Bill Roedy, vice chairman of MTV Networks and president of MTV Networks International.

The list could change if any of the top five withdraw, the people familiar with the search cautioned.

Some well-known public health veterans are finalists, including Michel Kazatchkine, a former Global Fund vice chairman and France's global ambassador for HIV/AIDS and communicable diseases, according to people familiar with the search. But the list doesn't include some of the most prominent figures in global public health, such as former senior officials with the World Health Organization or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

The other two candidates expected to be on the final list are Michel Sidibe, director of country and regional support department at UNAIDS and a 26-year veteran of international public health and development; and Hilde Johnson, a former minister of international development in Norway.

The Global Fund board is expected to make its final choice for the job at a meeting in Guatemala on Oct. 31.

Many challenges await the new Global Fund chief, such as persuading countries and organizations to contribute to the independent fund despite growing donor fatigue. The foundation, created by the United Nations in 2002 to boost funding to fight the world's greatest infectious scourges, is one of the world's three largest health financiers. It has committed $5.5 billion to finance programs in 132 countries, and is raising money to fund a sixth round of grants.

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David Rogers contributed to this article.

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