The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has appointed renowned AIDS expert Dr Mark Dybul as executive director.
The appointment of Dr Dybul, who helped develop and then lead the US President’s Emergency Programme for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), completes a near year-long search for a new Global Fund head following the departure of Michel Kazatchkine in January, 2012, after financial losses caused several donors to withhold funding.
The Fund has now created plans to change the way in offers financial support to AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria projects across the world, with one of Dr Dybul’s major tasks to ensure this new model is implemented successfully.
“Mark Dybul is a true leader, who can take the Global Fund to the next level,” said Simon Bland, board chair of the Global Fund. “He has a really impressive vision of how to achieve global health goals. He is passionate, energetic and focused.”
Dr Dybul’s relationship with PEPFAR began during his time as a staff clinician at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Washington, DC, when he joined a task force that ultimately led to the programme’s establishment.
In 2004, he moved to PEPFAR full-time as deputy chief medical officer, receiving subsequent promotions, before being promoted to lead the programme as US Global AIDS Coordinator in 2006.
He served in this role until 2009, helping countries across the world to build national programmes that both treat and prevent AIDS.
Despite received praise for his work in PEPFAR, Dr Dybul was forced out of the job shortly after Barack Obama’s inauguration as US president, following accusations that he advocated an abstinence approach to AIDS prevention.
It was a decision that drew much criticism from both the political and healthcare world, however, with many seeing these accusations as unfounded, claiming Dr Dybul endorsed a more comprehensive approach to prevent AIDS.
In addition to his new post, Dr Dybul currently serves as a director on several executive and advisory boards of health organisations, including Malaria No More, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and the Global Business Coalition for Health.