Next Chair and Vice-Chair of the Global Fund Board Appointed
Author:
David Garmaise
Article Type:Article Number: 2
For the first time, both positions will be filled by women
ABSTRACT The Global Fund has chosen a new chair: Dr Nafsiah Mboi, from Indonesia, and a new Vice-Chair: Mireille Guigaz, from France. Both are women.
The Global Fund Board has appointed Dr Nafsiah Mboi, Minister of Health in Indonesia, as the next Chair of the Board. It has also appointed Mireille Guigaz as the next Vice-Chair. Ms Guigaz currently represents France on the Board. Dr Mboi does not currently sit on the Board. Both appointments are effective at the end of the 29th Board meeting in June 2013; the two terms will run until the end of the first Board meeting in 2015.
This will be the first time in the history of the Global Fund that both the Chair and the Vice-Chair of the Board are women.
Dr Mboi was nominated by the Board’s implementer bloc, and Ms Guigaz by the donor bloc. Every two years, the positions are rotated. The current Chair, Simon Bland, was nominated by the donor bloc; and the current Vice-Chair, Mphu Ramatlapeng, was nominated by the implementer bloc. Both Dr Mboi and Ms Guigaz will serve in their personal capacities; they are required to be independent of any particular constituency or bloc.
When Ms Guigaz becomes Vice-Chair, France will need to appoint another person to replace her as the Board member for the France constituency. France is one of three countries that have their “own” constituency, the other two being the US and Japan.
Before becoming Minister of Health, Dr Mboi was Secretary General of the National AIDS Commission (NAC) in Indonesia, where she oversaw planning, coordination and implementation of the national response to HIV, and expanded the involvement of both government and civil society organisations. In a “letter of motivation” that she sent to indicate that she accepted the nomination by the implementer bloc, Dr Mboi said that in her position at the NAC, she was closely involved in all aspects of the planning, negotiation and implementation of successive grants. “This has given me a first-hand understanding and knowledge of the enormous potential for good of the Global Fund in fighting the three diseases but also, as implementer, of its real challenges.”
Originally trained as a pediatrician, Dr Nafsiah subsequently earned an MPH degree. She served as a member of Indonesia’s Parliament from 1992 to 1997. Internationally, she has served as Chair of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child and also as Director of the Department of Gender and Women’s Health at the World Health Organization in Geneva.
“If nominated as Board Chair of the Global Fund, my vision would be to bring the voice and perspective of the implementing bloc countries, in particular to the current process of transformation the Global Fund is conducting,” Dr Mboi said.
“Nafsiah Mboi is an inspiring and highly effective leader,” said Simon Bland, Chair of the Global Fund Board. “She is committed to building upon the reforms of the past two years, and she and Mireille Guigaz will make an outstanding team that can lead the Global Fund to a new level of achievement.”
In addition to being the representative of France on the Global Fund Board, Ms Guigaz is the Ambassador for the fight against HIV and communicable diseases for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In a career devoted to issues of global health, development and human rights, Mme Guigaz has served in numerous positions, including as France’s Permanent Representative to the Food and Agriculture Organization. She earned a PhD in medical law and health care economics at the University of Lyon. She also earned a Master of law and political sciences from the Institute of Political Studies of Lyon and a Master’s degree in mediation from the Kurt Bösch Institute.
In her letter of motivation, Ms Guigaz said that she will retire from her civil service position in March 2013, and will therefore be available to devote time and energy to the Global Fund. Ms Guigaz said that having served on the boards of UNITAID, UNAIDS and Roll Back Malaria, she can bring “a cross-cutting vision” to her role as Vice-Chair of the Global Fund Board.
The Global Fund said that the handover between the outgoing and incoming chairs and vice-chairs, which will take place in May and June, will be carefully planned to ensure a smooth transition as the Fund prepares for its important fourth replenishment.
Some of the information for this article was taken from a Global Fund news release.
