Watching Transformation Of The Global Fund On Its 10th Anniversary

"Are we watching the rebirth of the troubled Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, perhaps in a new, more U.S.-flavored guise?" Guardian health editor Sarah Boseley asks in her "Global Health Blog." She writes, "The Fund has been in the mire now for some time after revelations that some of its grants fell into corrupt hands, short of money and unable to agree new grants to developing countries badly in need of disease-fighting programs," adding, "But the dramatic events of the past few days suggest the Global Fund's fortunes might be on the turn as it hits its tenth anniversary."

Boseley writes, "An overhaul is underway, to ensure not just transparency but greater efficiency" and notes that the Global Fund Board on Monday approved a "Consolidated Transformation Plan." On Tuesday it appointed a new general manager, Gabriel Jaramillo, the Columbian-born Brazilian citizen who is a former chair and CEO of Sovereign Bank, and current Executive Director Michel Kazatchkine announced his resignation effective in mid-March, according to Boseley. Noting recent support for the Global Fund by Bill Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, she writes, "The Global Fund looks likely to carry on its important work under new management, but perhaps we should not be surprised if it has a bit less of a European flavor than it has done until now" (1/26).