[procaare] Global Fund Board Continues Search for Executive Director

["Global Fund Press Release" <procaare@healthnet.org>]

Global Fund for AIDS, TB & Malaria
Press Release
2 November 2006

Global Fund Board Continues Search for Executive Director
US$604 Million in New Grants Approved
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Guatemala City - The Board of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis 
and Malaria decided today to continue its search for a new Executive 
Director to assume the position when the term of the current Executive 
Director, Richard Feachem, comes to an end in March.

"The Board thoroughly considered a slate of five excellent and diverse 
candidates, but given differing perceptions of the strengths needed to 
continue the Global Fund's rapid progress, it could not reach consensus on a 
single candidate," said Dr Carol Jacobs, the Chair of the Global Fund Board. 
"The new Executive Director will need strong and broad support to accomplish 
our lifesaving mission. The Board has therefore decided to continue the 
search process, with the goal of identifying and appointing a new Executive 
Director by its next Board meeting in April 2007."

The Global Fund Board, with the assistance of a global executive search 
firm, undertook a global, merit-based search for a new Executive Director. 
The selection process was designed to meet the principle of consensus among 
all stakeholders of this unique public-private partnership, which has driven 
the Global Fund's work to date.

Separately, the Board approved a first US$604 million tranche of new grants 
to fight the three diseases, bringing the Global Fund's total portfolio of 
grants to US$6.4 billion in 135 countries. It hopes to approve another 
US$242 million by Friday, as more resources become available.

Nearly half of the financing through these new grants will go to Africa. 
Half of the grants will go to fighting AIDS, while the other half is evenly 
divided between tuberculosis and malaria. Over 60 percent of the grant value 
will go to low-income countries.

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The Global Fund's Board is a unique structure, with representatives of 
nongovernmental organizations, the private sector (including businesses and 
foundations) and communities affected by the three diseases, sharing an 
equal voice and vote with government representatives. Voting members of the 
Board are divided into donor (donor governments and private foundations and 
companies) and recipient (recipient governments, nongovernmental 
organizations from the global north and global south, and affected 
communities) blocks with ten representatives in each block. In addition, a 
representative of the Swiss government and three key international 
development partners (the World Health Organization (WHO), the Joint United 
Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Bank) are represented 
with non-voting status.