RICHARD FEACHEM TO LEAVE THE GLOBAL FUND

Author:

Bernard Rivers

Article Type:

Article Number: 1

ABSTRACT Dr. Richard Feachem has announced that he will leave his position as Executive Director of the Global Fund when his current contract expires on July 15, or as soon thereafter as a successor can be put in place. In a separate development, Prof. Michel Kazatchkine resigned in January as Vice-Chair of the Global Fund board.

Dr. Richard Feachem has announced that he will leave his position as Executive Director of the Global Fund when his current contract expires on July 15, or as soon thereafter as a successor can be put in place. Dr. Feachem, who joined the Fund in July 2002 as its first Executive Director, said in a statement on Friday that he is leaving partly in order to return to his former academic position at the University of California, and partly because he and his wife would like to spend more time with family and friends in San Francisco.

At its meeting in late April, the Global Fund board will agree on terms of reference and a selection procedure for the new Executive Director. The board will delegate much of the work to a selection committee, but the full board will make the final choice, presumably at its following meeting in early November. It therefore appears likely that it will be early 2007 before a new Executive Director can start work.

In a separate development, Prof. Michel Kazatchkine resigned in January as Vice-Chair of the Global Fund board, and also as board member representing France. Prof. Kazatchkine’s letter of resignation explained that his commitment to the Global Fund remains “as strong as ever”, but that he now wants “to take some distance and time to think, outside of the day-to-day pressure.” His resignation came nine months into his two-year term as Vice-Chair. The person to take over as Vice-Chair will be chosen at the April board meeting.

Finally, Ambassador Randall Tobias has resigned as Global Fund board member representing the United States, because of his promotion from Global AIDS Coordinator (that is, head of PEPFAR) to head of USAID. His place as board member will be taken by Dr. Bill Steiger, who has played an active role in the US delegation since the start of the Fund.